FergusonPoetryProject LLC

An entertaining question to ponder is, “What is the relationship between trees and people, how is this relevant, and what is the relationship between this comparison and Christian Liberty?”.

A passion for learning is not as common as we would hope. A lot of people experience such bad, non enthusiastic education in their youth that they forever turn away from the desire to learn. This can lead to an inability to self-govern. This can lead to an inability to think critically which is the first step towards being controlled by others. This is not a position or comparison against submissive versus dominant behavior, but an acknowledgment that ultimate health comes from an awareness of physical, mental, social, and spiritual stature.

The title, “Life Cycle” and the question at play is the only focus of thought. What is a life cycle? A life cycle is the series of changes in the life of an organism including reproduction. To analyze a life cycle is to look at the whole picture of what a life is and what a life represents. I like to imagine a younger 28 year old Dwayne Johnson in an arena of thousands of fans screaming, “KNOW YOUR ROLE” right before he runs into a ring to square off with Triple H for a World Championship Belt in professional wrestling. It is an old memory, but a fond one that holds relevance today in a most hilarious manner.

Now, in relationship to trees and people we must know our roles. Unlike trees people can move and have freedom to experience more than one location. On the other hand, we are exactly like trees in the sense of spawning from earth, growing up, aging, and eventually dying. Trees can be strong, weak, pretty, ugly, tall, short, round, skinny, rooted deep, rooted shallow, sun seeking, shade seeking, loners, groupers and more. Trees, if not planted properly or in good soil can grow up to be bad trees. Trees, if not taken care of and nurtured properly, can grow up to be deformed, unhealthy trees. Trees can die from diseases, funguses, storms, fires, and floods. Trees can be murdered by experiencing wounds or infestations from creatures outside itself.

Yet, how much more precious are we to God than trees? How much more precious are our lives than that of a pine tree, maple tree, oak tree, birch tree, or poplar? A crepe myrtle or sweet gum may be resistant and able to grow in very rough and tough environments, but even a sweet gum can be cut down by a person a fraction of its size when the right tool is used as a weapon in assault.

There are many reasons and desires to point out the similarities between trees and people. Liberty is something that can be removed from a person just as limbs can be removed from a tree. Can we live without liberty? Sure we can, but the trade off is that we will never be fully what God intended for us to be. A phrase that is common amongst arborist or Landscape Designers is “proper specimen selection” when it comes to placing trees in locations where it is not naturally designed to be. The fact that you cannot place any tree anywhere you want without consequences of compromising the overall health, or overall life cycle, hits too close to home to those who spend their lives trying to control their destiny instead of truly letting God’s Will be done in their life.

Can we strategically plant a tree in a location where it is not best suited? Yes. Can we make a tree stay alive long enough to fulfill its life cycle given that it is not designed to be there? Yes. Can we have our lives consumed by a tree keeping it pruned, and looking healthy despite its obvious stress indicators for the sake of a pretty lawn? Yes. The question becomes, “to what end?”. Should one life or multiple lives be consumed in keeping trees alive that were planted improperly? Can we transplant mature trees with or without guaranteed successes? When do we start over and pull up the wrong trees so we can plant the right ones?

We live in a world where the common economic position is to be given satisfaction guaranteed at the expense of the producer or producers, manufacturer or manufacturers. We live in a world where we do not consider the lasting effects for each and every decision because we are just trying to survive in our own position and placement. Some trees are wild, some trees are domesticated, some trees were made by nature, and some trees were made in a laboratory. There are so many different types of trees and so many types of people. The truth is that people are far more complex. Trees can be broken down to the atom and assembled all the way to its ultimate glory, but this still will not compare to the beauty of a fully matured man or woman.

When God made mankind it took a special hand. Man had to come last in the chronological order of the creation process because it took the complexities of designing space, planets, stars, the elements, the waters, the trees, the fish, the beasts and all creepy crawly things to be able to make man in all his glory. This is an example of intricacy given by the Great Programmer, the Great I AM, the Father and Creator of all.

Consider the tree nearest to you. Analyze it. Is it healthy? Is is weak? Is it young? Is it old? Are any branches dying? Are the leaves full and colorful, or brown and crumbling?

Are the roots exposed?

Now, consider the position or location? Does the tree get sun? How much sun? Does the tree get water? How much water? Are the animals near it using the tree for its shelter forming nests or dens? Does it host life or bugs of any kind? Is it hollow or dense?

Finally, in efforts to expound more on the importance we must agree that people can choose. A tree cannot choose to walk to a rivers edge to get water for itself given the fact there has been a drought. A tree cannot choose to be left alone by other trees growing near it or choking it out from surrounding overgrowth and minimal sunlight. In truth, many people experience life having similar unjust actions performed on them, but luckily there is ultimately choice for mankind as a whole.

We can choose to do better, and to be better, and to treat each other better. A tree will always fight for survival against itself, Mother Nature, and other trees. People will always fight against Mother Nature, but not necessarily itself, and not necessarily other people. Humanity, in Christianity, has the ability to surpass the evils of sin against itself and others through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. A tree does not, or will not, ever have this gift. This grace is a gift.

Christian Liberty is recognizing that we can turn away from our sin by choice. If we notice ourselves as being planted in an environment not healthy to thrive we can leave. If we seem to be without proper sunlight and water we can travel to another place to seek these things. If we are growing in battle against other trees that are choking us out and stealing our necessities we can self-transplant unlike trees. If we feel like we are being improperly pruned, or are about to be cut down by radicals we can get up and leave. These things are true, but we can also choose conflict.

Mankind, like trees, can fight. Mankind can stand its ground and not leave when things get hard. Mankind can choose between staying or leaving. This is a blessing from God as he has given us a gift for being made in His image. We can choose to outlast the droughts of life. Keep in mind that the choices of man and woman in its fullness only comes from, and by, fully grown peoples.

There is an innocence to youth that remains more similar to the trees. Children, like trees, can not uproot and walk away. Children, like trees, are more reliant on the caretakers until they reach the age of understanding and choice. Once a boy becomes a man, or a girl becomes a woman, the differences between man and tree become vast and near an inability to relate. Though a trained eye can see the life in both the untrained eye will not care to dive as deep to ask the question, “Why am I?”.

Christian Liberty is not only the asking of the great philosophical questions, but it is also answering them all through a lens of Christianity that Jesus is the Messiah and Christ, the Holy Spirit is gift for man to walk with God, and that the creator truly seeks a personal relationship with you so you can in turn see the relationships we hold amidst all of God’s creations. Lastly, it is important to remember that mankind is the only creation of God in which his image is truly imprinted. We metaphorically relate to trees, but we are not trees…

In conclusion, the presence of life beyond mankind on earth is subject-able. People will see what they want to see, and people will hear what they want to hear. People will feel what they want to feel, and people will believe what they want to believe. As a follower of Jesus we must hold fast to the ultimate truth and ultimate reality that Jesus is the right person, at the right place, at the right time to not only take the burden of our sins, but to also give us a gift beyond anything the world can offer which is life and life abundantly. The gift is eternity.

As always… God Bless,

James Arthur Ferguson