Spring will not bring happiness to these trees.
Or in my son’s case, sacrificing the tree for the branch! He has this little quirk that my wife and I have noticed in him from even his earliest days: An inexplicable antagonism toward trees. He’s not afraid of them, and he’s never had a bad experience with them (to our knowledge). He just likes to incessantly and unmercifully whack them, usually with their own shed parts lying nearby! Talk about adding insult to injury! With the forecast suggesting we might finally be emerging from the Great Michigan Winter hibernation, I can only pine (get it?) for the trees he will soon be attacking. They barely survived the last four months, only to be newly pummeled by a very determined boy…sigh.
His most recent victims/weapons!
I don’t get it. Instead of enjoying all the benefits a large beautiful tree has to offer, he favors using a small part of the tree as his tool to compromise the rest. I guess I’ll cut him some slack. After all, the trees endure his onslaught quite well, and it is pretty funny to watch him just go to town on them. Especially now that he’s old enough to put the remains in the fire pit by himself.
However, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between his treatment of trees and our treatment of the Bible. When we’re faced with a difficult question of faith, it’s so easy to favor a small portion of familiar Scripture when deciding on an answer rather than enjoying the much richer answers offered by a more comprehensive survey of God’s Word. Clinging only to the verses we know or like encourages us to remain ignorant of other just as authoritative passages and keeps us from being able to address any related questions our preferred chunk of Scripture doesn’t. I have seen so many people struggle with doubt and the inability to respond to others’ questions because of overly simplistic answers, when knowing the vastness of God’s words make both avoidable.
That’s why the Healing Hereafter book series encourages us to open our minds to every word God reveals. It contains over 1400 references to Scripture, and it’s free and just two clicks away right here! I think you’ll be as amazed as I was to learn how bringing it all together makes doubt disappear and replaces impossible questions with rational and refreshing answers.
Now if only I had such success with my tree-mugging child…
