Thought for the Week 

‘’For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.’’ (Isaiah 55:12)

This season of the year reminds me of this wonderful promise in Isaiah. I love the exuberance of May, the explosion of growth, the sheer abundance of God’s creation and the shimmering tender green of new foliage. The trees do indeed seem to clap their hands with joy. Trees feature widely in the Bible, often symbolically, from the forbidden tree of knowledge in Genesis through to the wooden cross of Calvary and the tree of life in Revelation (22:2) with its continuous yielding of fruit and healing leaves. In his parables Jesus uses trees to convey a message, sometimes as a warning: we hear that a tree is known by its fruit, that every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cast into the fire. Our fruit, or lack of it, shows whether our foundation is solid. A good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit and vice versa. In the kingdom of God we cannot pretend to be who we are not.

In our present world, trees are increasingly valued for their beneficial influence on the environment, in combatting climate change, as seen in the number of new trees being planted. I recently came across this poem, which beautifully expresses how if we are faithful to God we can, in time, become like trees: deeply rooted, solid and strong, graceful and calm to the good of any who come within our orbit.

Peace Trees

To be in the presence of trees is to know peace.

The silent rhythm of their life,

 Bringing maturity in due time,

without anxiety or haste,

calms our impatience;

 Their solid strength, derived from

Hidden roots spreading much further

 Than we ever know, gives us security:

 Grace, beauty, shapeliness and form,

 Delight our senses, soothe our

 Fragile nerves, and bring refreshment.

 Let us in turn be trees,

Growing in God’s time to maturity,

Spreading our roots deep into springs of life,

Opening branches wide to all who come

 Offering strength and healing through our Peace.

The gradual growth of the tree is a reminder of the importance of working with God and in his timing rather than in our impatience trying to impose our own agenda.

A Prayer

Loving Lord, You nourish us with your Word, our prayers, our fellowship with you and each other. Help us to be patient and consistent, keeping close to you, allowing you to shape us and bring us to maturity in your time, so that we may bring peace, healing and the experience of your love to all who cross our paths. In Jesus’ name. Amen.