Be The Fruit

Are You like the Tree Planted Near a Stream?

by Bill Blair on 05/10/09 at 7:10 am

Which form of vegetation describes your life?  Are you a tree near a stream or a shrub in the desert?

“Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”” (Jeremiah 17:5-8)

What do you do when the heat comes?  Are you anxious when the drought comes?  What do you trust in?

I found this picture that is apparently a tree planted near a stream in Israel.  As I gaze at the picture I see what looks like dry grass surrounding the tree, but the tree is full of green leaves.  As the tree stands near the stream its roots are constantly replenished with water.  Grass can easily wither because its roots do not run deep, but a tree’s roots can run deep into the earth reaching water that will sustain it.  And what of the shrub in the desert?  The shrub in the desert feels the heat, but it cannot endure.  The shrub may survive the heat, but it cannot flourish because its roots have not been connected to the living water that brings life.  As the tree stretches its roots into the water, it gains security, it gains comfort in the water and can even flourish in a time of drought.  Jeremiah describes this tree well, explaining that its leaves remain green and it never ceases to bear fruit.

One point that should be understood is this:  When the Bible speaks of trusting in one’s strength, it is not speaking in terms of effort but in direction.  Sometimes people read a passage like the one above and think that effort is somehow bad, but effort can be good or bad depending on if it pursues  godliness or not.  The context of Jeremiah reveals that Israel’s sin was not because of effort, but because they had turned from the Lord to worship other gods.  Israel had turned from the Lord to trust in idols they had made with their own hands.  Yahweh, through the Prophet, describes this well when he states:  “for my people have committed two evils:  they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer 2:13).

What is the true source of this living water?  It is Jesus.  Do you remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well?  He said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10).  Later he explains, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again [speaking of the well before them], but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). In another instance Jesus proclaims,”Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” (John 7:38).  The source of the living water is Jesus and those who receive the water are the ones who believe in Him.

We all have forsaken the fountain of living water, but Jesus offers it freely to those who turn to him in faith.  As we turn to Jesus we forsake our broken cisterns and enjoy the fountain of living water that will sustain us forever.  We then can become like the tree planted by the stream as our roots stretch out into the living water Jesus provides, we gain security, we gain comfort, the ability flourish even in times of difficulty, and the ability to bear fruit in all times for eternity.

Which tree are you?  Are you the tree planted near the stream having turned to Jesus and stretched out your roots into the living water he gives, or are you the shrub in the desert that is separated from the living water languishing in the heat with little hope for survival?  If you are the latter, you need not remain that way because the water is available to all, but you must turn to the source and trust Him to give it to you.