The Christmas Tree

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. -Psalm 1:3 NIV

The artificial tree we have used for a few years was just too large in our scaled-down space this year. So we thought maybe we should go back to the days of having a live tree. Always my first choice! They are beautiful, one of a kind and have a woodsy fragrance. But once we saw the withered trees baled up in netting with fallen needles strewn everywhere, we decided against it. So I declared that it was now or never to consider that pristine white artificial tree I had admired in the glossy magazines, but it was just too contemporary once we saw it up close. So, predictably, we went back to the artificial green tree, buying a smaller version of what we have always had. Our new smaller decorated tree looks great and I couldn’t imagine that the artificial contents inside the box from the store could come to life, but it did. It seemed to come alive with each ornament and ribbon we placed on it. And then the lights were turned on and we were in awe. Even our little pup, Barney seems thrilled by the tree and considers the tree skirt to be his as he pulls it to the middle of the floor to make a new bed for himself surrounded by his toys!

Whether it is a Christmas tree or another kind of tree that lives near a spring or a creek, it will tap its roots into the water source and survive. Water is life. That is how it is in our life too. Yes, we are largely made up of water and yes, we must drink our weight in it to be healthy or so it seems! But in our spiritual life, if our Bible lies closed on the coffee table or nightstand, we are not drinking in the Word and therefore becoming stagnant. Scripture is life to us and the Living Water is what sustains us. It is how God talks to us. Where we get our wisdom. Our answers. Our hope. And it is where our faith builds when we feed from the Word. This season of Christmas is a good time to renew and refresh our commitment and our spirit to God. When we are spiritually fed, we are more apt to see what God’s plan is for our life, to prosper from His direction and wisdom.  A. B.  Simpson, a minister from the 1800’s said this, “Christ is not a reservoir but a spring. His life is continual, active and ever passing on with an outflow as necessary as its inflow. If we do not perpetually draw the fresh supply from the living Fountain, we shall either grow stagnant or empty, It is, therefore, not so much a perpetual fullness as a perpetual filling.”