“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
-Warren Buffett
When I was a second grader in 1967, I thought one of the oldest living things on planet Earth was my uncle Carl, a WWII veteran who was 40 years old at the time. Now that I’m more than 20 years older than Uncle Carl was then, I know I was wrong.
This weekend, while wrapping up a week-long vacation at John’s Island, South Carolina, I got to truly meet one of the oldest living things on this planet; the Angel Oak. It’s a Quercus virginiana, an evergreen tree better known as a southern live oak, found only in the Deep South. Estimated to be between 400-500 years old, this massive oak rises over 66 feet from the low country soil of my home state and sports a “waistline” of 28 feet in circumference, with its longest branch reaching 187 feet. It grows out more than up, providing over 17,000 square feet of shade in the fullness of day.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to visit another incredible tree; the Tree of Life, located in the center of Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. It rises 145 feet and is located in the center of the park. It has over 102,000 leaves and includes 325 carvings of existing and extinct animals in its trunk and branches. But the carvings weren’t actually carved; they were manufactured – produced in a factory. Ironically, while Animal Kingdom has millions of trees and plants inside its gates, the Tree of Life is one of the few artificial trees in the park. It didn’t take 500 years to build, just a mere 18 months. What a remarkable creation of man, yet lifeless.
As I walked around the base of the Angel Oak it was anything but lifeless. It was more alive than Disney’s tree could ever wish to be. I watched as tourists walked around the tree marveling at the very same features that had captivated me; the size, the structure, the beauty of something that our species could not create, one we can only revere and admire. After spending far longer at the Angel Oak than we had planned, I turned to my wife and said, “I really don’t want to leave this place.” My experience was peaceful and worshipful. I had experienced something real; something real that was full of life.
Before Disney created their Tree of Life, the Bible spoke of a Tree of Life. We find it mentioned in Genesis and again in Revelation. This is the “life-giving tree created to enhance and sustain the physical life of humanity (1).” This was available to Adam and Eve to partake of, but they were prohibited from its fruit after eating from the forbidden tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Revelation we find the Tree of Life mentioned again, standing in the middle of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations (Rev 22:2-5).
Another Tree of Life was provided for us in order to bridge the gap between the mistakes recorded in Genesis and the victory declared in Revelation. This was accomplished through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. In John chapter 15, Jesus said, “I am the true vine,” the real tree, not an artificial, man-made one. Jesus urges us to stay connected to what is true, what is real – Himself. In doing so He said we will “bear much fruit,” something artificial trees can’t do.
Staying connected is not a problem for us these days. The question, though, is what are we connected to? A recent research report cited in Economic Times states that we tap, swipe and click our smartphones an average of 2,617 times per day, or nearly 1 million times per year. Average screen time for you and I comes in at 2.42 hours per day. The study shows that Facebook garners the greatest number of touches at 15% (that’s 392 taps, swipes, or clicks each day). Just how much “true vine” and “real tree” connection are we getting from Facebook and its counterfeit relatives?
I enjoyed my visit to Disney to see its tree, but I enjoyed my visit to the Angel Oak more so. One is a marvel of man’s ingenuity, the other is miracle of God’s creation through His spoken word. One depicts life, one is sustained by the Giver of Life. One costs you $113.96 per day to see, the other is free.
The Apostle Paul warned his readers (Rom 1:18-15) to be careful what they connect with; what they’re tapping, swiping, and clicking. He said that if they continued to seek the artificial instead of the real, God would eventually give it to them: “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get. They [those who came before and chose the artificial] traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them.”
The true Tree of Life is not a lifeless sculpture standing in the middle of a theme park. It is a real tree that is full of life and firmly planted in the Holy City created by the Sculptor of Life. God has prepared the fruit of this tree for all who choose to attach themselves to the true tree (vine) of Jesus Christ. This tree brings shade and sustenance for all those who seek its refuge. Its branches reach out to other living things, and provide healing for our broken lives and the brokenness of all humanity.
Where will you and I find rest and connection for our lives in this restless and over-connected world in which we live? A tree was planted a long time ago for you and I. Will we dare to sit in its shade and connect to its life?
Prayer: Lord, lead us to disconnect with the things that threaten to snatch true life from us. May we sit today in peaceful worship under the true Tree of Life that provides the shade we so desperately need from the world’s piercing rays; the tree that is life-giving and sustaining for us, not only for the trials we face today, but for the joy of all eternity. In the True Vine’s name, Jesus Christ, we ask it. Amen.
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