Have you ever thought about how similar we are to trees? I’m not sure when I first thought about it, but I’m continually reminded of our similarities to these beautiful objects of nature. In this article, I want to share 3 ways we are like trees that I hope will help you live a more blessed life.
We All Start Out As Seeds
When we look at nature and observe some of the tallest trees, it’s often hard to believe that such big objects started out small. Just like trees start out small and become big is the same way some people start small in life and end up big.
No, I’m not referring to the physical, but to abilities and achievement. When we look at people who are great in an area, we may think they were just born that way. While this may be true to an extent in the case of some talents, it’s not always the case. Yet, their accomplishments may leave us feeling ungifted or unworthy.
Knowing that every great person today, like trees, didn’t start out that way should be a great encouragement to us. It shows that although we may not be as fruitful as we yet can be, one day we can.
While describing how his Kingdom will advance, Jesus compared it to a mustard seed. He said, “Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:32 (NIV).
Using the analogy of a seed, Jesus said “when it grows” and not if it grows. What’s the significance of this? If you think about it, when a person plants a seed, there is no need to pray for it to grow. Once certain conditions are met it grows automatically. Being like a seed means that your growth is automatic too!
We Need The Right Ingredients To Grow
In the last point, I ended by stating that your growth is automatic. That, however, is based on the condition that you are getting all the ingredients necessary to grow. A lack or absence of such ingredients will prevent growth. Just like trees need water, soil, and sunlight to grow, we need food and water to grow physically.
But since we are more than physical beings we also need the right ingredients to grow both spiritually and mentally. Physically, the right food has the nutrients to build our bodies. But spiritually and mentally, the right information is what helps us to grow.
While referring to a person who meditates on God’s laws day and night, The Bible describes them as “a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither…” Psalm 1:3 (NIV). This verse explicitly compares us to trees, highlighting that our prosperity is based on absorbing God’s laws.
Like a seed, we may have the potential to grow, but that alone isn’t enough. To grow like trees, we must have the right ingredients. What more, there being the right ingredients implies that there are also wrong ingredients. Like a seed placed in a bad environment get’s the wrong ingredients from it and potentially dies, so are we negatively impacted when we receiving bad ingredients into our lives.
People Are Attracted To Us Because of Our Fruits
There was a point in my life where I use to get upset that people only came to me when they needed something from me. Now seeing that people do the same to trees, makes me realize that it’s probably by design. When you really think about it, what makes us who were are is not our bodies, but our personalities and abilities.
Like a business, people engage the services of the business not because they necessarily like the people running the business, but because they want something that the business provides. From a purpose standpoint, we were all born with a gift and that gift, like a tree’s fruit, is meant to serve others. Haven’t you notice that trees don’t eat their own fruit!
I once heard the late Dr. Myles Munore attribute our failures in life partly to the fact the people don’t know who we are. Not who we are as a person, but who we are as in what fruits we have to give. That is, if people knew what we had to offer, they would know what to come to us for. This would then guarantee your success in our area of gifting.
Pushing this point further, just like there are many trees that produce the same fruit but are in different locations, so can all of us succeed in offering similar gifts to the world by being in different locations. I don’t know about you, but I find that powerful!
You Are Not A Tree
We looked at 3 ways we are like trees, but I want to end it by stating that you are not a tree. What makes this obvious statement important to end with you might ask? You may be in a position where you are still in seed form, full of potential but not experiencing any growth.
Deep down you know you have a greater purpose, but the fruits are not apparent. Trees that find themselves in this position have no choice but to accept their predicament. The only way a tree can experience growth when it’s struggling is by someone placing it in a better environment. Unlike a tree, you don’t have to depend on anyone placing you in a better environment. You can do it yourself.
That’s how I became fruitful. By what I can only describe as God’s favor, I found myself in environments that started me on a growth path and now I ensure I’m in environments that give me the right ingredients.
Whenever you see a tree, remember that there is growth ahead of you. Keep yourself in the right environment and then you’ll automatically be blessed and be a blessing to those around you.
