I’ve been waiting most of today, Monday, for the tree guys to show up.
We’ve lived in the same house for the last twenty-six years. When we moved in, there were four beautiful trees planted across our front yard.
To the right of the driveway is a magnificent oak. It’s a glorious tree, and we hope we’ll never be deprived of it’s beauty.
In front of our house and to the left were three different varieties of maples. A couple of years ago we had to have the red maple cut down. And now, we’re about to lose the other two.
Over the years these two trees grew so tall that they began to interfere with the power lines. The power company has trimmed them back repeatedly over the years, until they’ve become grotesque imitations of their former selves.
So, we’ve decided to have them cut down and replaced with trees whose height will not threaten the wires passing over head.
Saturday, Linda and I talked with the gentleman who is going to remove them for us. He loves trees. He reluctantly agreed that they needed to come down, but not because of their ugliness.
It was because of their roots. They’re everywhere. Many of them have protruded above the ground, sometimes threatening to trip you if you’re not paying attention while walking across the front yard. But even more significantly, many of them have begun to bump up against the house.
Mr. Raby explained to us that eventually those roots would damage our house’s foundation. In his opinion the trees needed to be taken down not because they were ugly but to keep them from harming our house.
They’ve been growing for years. We’ve loved those trees. They’ve provided the front of our home with wonderful shade, have housed countless families of birds, and have been lovely just to look at.
But while things looked good, just beneath the surface, their roots have been growing, and now they’re threatening to become destructive.
I preached Sunday morning about forgiving those who have sinned against us even if they don’t repent and ask forgiveness. To fail to do so, as I attempted to demonstrate by referring to several verses in Romans 12 and 13, is to live in disobedience to the Lord. It is also destructive both to you and others.
As I’ve been thinking about our trees and their roots, my mind has run to this passage in Hebrews 12.14-15: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
Not making every effort to live in peace with all men, which is what you are doing when you refuse to forgive those who have sinned against you, is to encourage the “root of bitterness” (KJV). Like the roots of our two maples, such a root system will eventually cause great damage. It will trouble you and defile many.
For many years our trees looked good. But then they began to become grotesque. But even worse, their roots were growing, and now they are threatening to do great harm. It’s time to make every effort to be rid of them.
Pastor Caines