Trees Need Water

 

A couple of years ago I took this photo of this lovely Lemon Scented Gum tree inDubbo because it looked so majestic with its smooth white bark and straight trunk. This week I went to look at it and it was dead. Apparently killed by the drought, and I noticed to my disappointment that its relations nearby were also   dying, as you see in the second photo. They are not deciduous trees so once they have lost their leaves like this I am sorry to say they will not recover.

The trouble is that they are trees designed for a high rainfall area like we see in the third photo taken in the Victorian highlands where they are not exposed to the drought conditions we have out here in Central N.S.W. Later on the same day I walked down by the Macquarie river in Dubbo and took this fourth photo of some Gum trees on the river bank. These old trees are doing remarkably well and are probably a couple of hundred years old. They have gone through many droughts but they have not been affected because they do not rely on the local rainfall for their sustenance as they have their roots down in an endless supply of river water. So no matter how hot the wind is, or how little rain falls locally they just go on growing and providing a home for the possums, parrots, ants, and insects whilst they produce Oxygen and absorb Carbon, making the world a better place for us to live in as God designed them to do.

Interestingly the Bible (in Psalm 1) likens us to the trees in both the circumstances set out above. It says that we can be just like the trees in the last photo “planted by rivers of water that bring forth their fruit in due season, our “leaf” shall not wither, and everything we do shall prosper.” You see, God is prepared to do this by providing us with “Living water”, (John 4:10) thus, even though we may be surrounded by all sorts of problems, we will overcome them with this help from the Almighty God, who created the Universe and designed everything in it including us (His greatest Creation).

However, because we live in a sinful world where “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God”, (Romans 3:23) our Heavenly Father has placed certain conditions on our behaviour if we want to draw on His ever available supply of this “Living Water”, and live victoriously like the trees along the river bank. Firstly, we must not take notice of the “council of the un-Godly” because their advice is limited to worldly knowledge that fails to “factor in” God’s directions. The Psalm also says we must be cautious of adopting the ways of scornful, sinful people. Immoral ways, accepted by society, but are sins in God’s sight.

If you have a clothing shop, you will always be studying the best ways to display your dresses and studying the most attractive styles. If you are a car sales person you will study to know all about your vehicles and present them on display to their best advantage. If you are selling houses you will study to know the market, and advertise the homes for sale. So if you want to qualify for that “living water assisted life”, (mentioned above), then it is not unreasonable that “You must “delight” yourself in the law of the Lord and in His law meditate day and night.” (As Psalm 1 says), Indeed, it is for sure that those Salespersons mentioned above think about their products constantly like that, in order to advance and be good at their job. Similarly, if we back up our lives with God’s word and accept what the Psalm says, we would just be doing what is good common sense too. Wouldn’t we? So we must hand our past sins over to Jesus because He died to gain forgiveness for us, and then gratefully accept His forgiveness, study to stop breaking the 10 Commandments, repent, (change our behaviour pattern) and ask Him to help us live the way He wants us to in future, as outlined in the New Testament. Remember “God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) and Jesus said “I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly”. you just can’t improve on that!  So it is vital that we comply with His directions stated above. Best wishes, Tom.