Teresa's Thoughts

Tree's of Righteousness

In prophesying concerning the church the prophet Isaiah gives such a beautiful description of a Christian in Isaiah 61:3b. “…that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.” What a glorious thought, trees of righteousness.

Have you given much thought to the characteristics of a tree? They have roots that go deep into the ground so they can stand firm against the storms. They give so much of themselves for us to live. They sustain life by giving off oxygen. We use them for many of the things we need such as homes, paper and fires.

They are a beautiful sight that decorates the roadsides and gives almost any place an inviting appeal. Basically, they wait on the LORD for the needed rain and sun that they might survive. They give comfort, protection, warmth & coolness as needed, and great color in the autumn. They flower and produce fruit in the spring and summer. They provide shade from the hot sun and in turn lose their leaves in the winter so we can receive more of the sun’s warmth. They always have time for a child to play in their shade and swing from their limbs. They offer shelter, rest and food for the birds and animals.

These are just a few of the characteristics of the glorious tree, I am sure you can number many more. The LORD, several times in scriptures compares His people to trees. In Psalm 1 we hear the psalmist compare those who delight in the law of the LORD to a tree planted by the rivers of water. That is a beautiful picture of us as we thirst to gain knowledge of GOD’s word. A tree also brings forth fruit according to this Psalm. We too should be fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of GOD (Colossians 1:10). Then in Matthew 12:33 our LORD tells us that a “tree is known by his fruits” whether they be good or bad. Even the “preacher” in Proverbs 15:4 reminds us that “a wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.” How often as GOD’s women we need that reminder. What a wonderful thought that our tongues could be as a tree of life! We will all have access to the tree of life in heaven. We are blessed to use our tongues to share His love and forgiveness with others and offer them the same opportunity.

There are many more references that compare us to trees in scripture. Take out a concordance, look up the word tree and see how many other wonderful thoughts the LORD shares with us about His trees!

Trees play a major roll in our life and livelihood. We can be those “trees of righteousness” and play a major role in the lives of others. We, Christian women, are the “plantings of the LORD”. It is our pleasure to bring glory to His name. We do this as we protect, provide, comfort and plant our souls by the river of water, GOD’s word. We have so many opportunities to share the “tree of life” with those who do not know Him. Let’s stand tall, thirst for His word and make our tongues “trees of life” to all we meet!! And why would we want to do this? In order to glorify our awesome GOD!!

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