I recently was given a spiritual book of inspirational quotes. The book cover title was “He who plants a tree, plants hope.”

These words were beautifully engraved and sparkled with various colors and glitter representing the leaves of a tree. What a beautiful tree I thought. It had a variety of leaves – some were brown, some were gold, some yellow.

It made me more curious about the tree representing hope. I started researching what the bible said about trees. I was amazed. It said so much about trees. I am only going to cover two things that stood out to me the most.

Facts about Trees

I learned that the bible discusses 36 different trees and that trees are mentioned in the Bible more than any living thing other than God and people. Trees are mentioned throughout the bible. They are mentioned on the first page of Genesis and the last page of Revelations.

Other key facts about trees:

• Trees are the oldest living things on earth.
• There are trees alive today that were already ancient in the time of Christ.
• Jesus died on a tree.
• Trees can live as long as 10,000 years.

Deeply Rooted

A tree has to be deeply rooted in the ground. If not, it can be uprooted by a bad rain storm, hurricane or wind storm. Trees have different purposes. Some provide shade. Some have leaves, some do not. Some bear fruit.

We are like trees because we all have unique purposes and God has created us for a unique purpose. Some of us help provide protection (shade) for others. Some of us help to provide comfort and healing. It is our responsibility to fulfill the purpose God has predestined for us by doing, saying and acting the way God wants us to. When we do that, we produce the fruit that can produce more trees and more fruit throughout the earth.

If we are not deeply rooted, we run the risk of our foundation being shaken every time a storm, challenge or setback arrives in our lives.

How do we ensure we are deeply rooted?

We keep seeking the bible for the answers, instead of relying on ourselves or others. Proverbs 3:18 states “The wisdom of the Bible is a trees of Life.”

When we continue to seek our answers from the Bible, we have more of God’s wisdom to make the right decisions in our life, and to handle the situations and circumstances that arrive in our lives the way that God wants us to instead of how we think we should.

Seek the Light, Be the Light

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12

A tree naturally seeks light. We should follow this example and seek the light. I believe when we seek the light in our daily lives, we become a light.

Recently, a very close friend passed away. I was blown away by all of the kind words people said about her. It reminded of the tree and the light it provides on earth. Although her death was painful for so many, I soon realized that her tree had produced a lot of fruit and a lot of light. There were countless young people and others who shared how she had encouraged them, supported them, and empowered them to believe in the impossible circumstances of their lives. She planted seeds of hope and light in everyone’s lives she touched.

After hearing all of the stories told about her and the impact she had on others I realized she was firmly rooted in the word of God and she used that wisdom to be a light in the world – and her actions produced the fruit that will continue to live on after her death. It was a great reminder that we must all continually seek to be “like trees planted by steams of water, which yield their fruit in its season.” (Psalm 1:3)