Have you ever really looked at the beauty that surrounds you like snow capped mountains, lush forests, raging waterfalls, or fields of wheat and seen some attribute of God in it? This week my daughter and I took a trip to the coast and on our way we stopped at a redwood forest. Their size makes you stand in awe. Today after coming home yesterday from our trip I did a Google on the redwoods, and I was totally amazed at what I learned on a site called Trees of Mystery.
Did you know that redwoods are the largest living thing on earth? And that the average diameter of their trunk is between 8 - 20 feet? Take a look at this picture and you'll see. They can also grow as tall as 360 feet.
What spoke to me was looking at some of the redwoods that had fallen on the forest floor and seeing how huge their roots were. Looking at them made me think of Ephesians 3:17-18 That Christ may make His home in your heart through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love, May be full of strength to apprehend with all the saints what the breadth and length and height and depth are."
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| You can tell the sun was very bright when I took this picture. |
I read one of the signs by the tree that noted that despite their size redwoods have roots that are only 6-10 feet deep, but what touched me was these trees connect their roots to one another! This undoubtedly strengthens them when storms hit the California coast. Now that has a lot of spiritual meaning to me--even in nature it's not about getting through it alone. Even the verse above points out that we apprehend together all the dimensions of Christ's wealth.
The website I was reading at today also pointed out some facts about redwoods that made me think that God is the same way. Listen to some of them:1. If the redwood's bark is exposed to fire, it chars into a heat shield. There's a verse in the Old Testament that talks about when we walk through the fire, God will be with us.
Isaiah 43:2B ...And when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and the flame will not consume you.
2. The chemical composition of the tree is distasteful and even poisonous to normal tree pests like termites and ants. God's life is so powerful that Satan can't attack it!
Hebrews 7:16 Who [Christ our High Priest] has been appointed not according to the law of a fleshly commandment but according to the power of an indestructible life.
3. The redwood is very resistant to water associated rot. It is not uncommon to find a redwood in perfect condition that has been buried for thousands of years. Nothing can destroy God's divine life in us!
Isaiah 43:2A When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not flow over you. ...
4. If a live redwood is knocked over, it will attempt to continue living through its limbs and that the tree will turn each limb into a new tree. God's life always finds a way! Like the apostle Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians, sometimes a believer is put into a difficult situation, but this causes us to experience the Lord's life which becomes a supply for others.
2 Corinthians 4:12 so then death operates in us, but life in you.
All of these points made me think about Romans 1:20 that says: For the invisible things of Him, both His eternal power and divine characteristics, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being perceived by the things made, so that they would be without excuse; It amazes me how many spiritual truths are apparent in nature--we just need to get out there and enjoy it!
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