The Sycamore

This week I went for a walk along a canal path in Bordentown. Needless to say, along my 4 hour journey, I saw many trees. There was one tree though that stood out from the rest. In a sea of trees this one was unique and unmistakable.  A sycamore, it's white bark shone bright among the dark brown trees and the muddy canal that surrounded it. As I got closer, I saw the base of the tree was brown and blended in with all the other trees. Inching up the tree, the middle section looked as if it were grey, a mix between the brown bark falling off and the white bark being exposed underneath. But the top of the tree, which is what I saw from afar, was white, shining bright, almost like a lighthouse against the blue sky. I don't know why this tree stood out in that moment. I have probably passed ones similar to it 1,000 times before. But maybe today after getting lost in the woods for a few hours, my mind was quiet enough to pick up the message God was sending me through His beautiful creation. The timing of the message couldn't be more perfect for my life.

A sycamore...Zaccheus climbed one of those. Maybe him climbing that sycamore tree wasn't just a fun fact in the Bible. Maybe he climbed it because it was a tree that was meant to stand out, and he wanted to stand out too. And he did, as that was the day him and his family was saved. I can't help but think, isn't that what our lives should look like in our journey as Christians? Paul says in Galatians 2:20 "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith...” We were made to be like this sycamore, to stand out, to be a light in the dark, to leave our old life behind, to allow the sun to change us and the darkness to fall off. Only problem is this kind of change requires faith. 

And just like Zaccheus, who else likes to climb trees? Kids...which is also a topic Jesus repeats throughout the gospels which is synonymous with faith. In Matthew 18:3 He says “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Kids climb trees all the time and trust that tree to hold them up. It doesn't even occur to them that it won't. That's what the faith of a child looks like. That's what children have that we as adults so often don't, but we desperately need, to walk this life out. “And without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6

Did you ever consider why a child is willing to give away what's in their hand...their last fruit snack, cheerio, etc.? Most kids in a healthy environment know from a very young age their parents have more and will provide it for them. They have no doubt they will be taken care of. This is the picture God wants us to grasp between him and us especially in our adult years. Can you imagine how silly it would look for a child to be working, buying their own groceries, cooking their own food, and providing for themselves, when their parents are there? Not only would it be silly but they would fail miserably. Yet I'm sure this is what it looks like to God every day when we struggle, rushing around trying to take care of ourselves, forcing things to happen, when He's there with everything we need just waiting for us to move aside so He can provide it to us. We get older and lose that childlike faith along the way and get caught up in carrying our own burdens instead of transferring them to our Heavenly Father to take care of. We ask Him to show up in our lives but often we haven't even given Him room to do what He promises, and then get mad at Him when we are blocking the way. Why does God need to provide for us when we are doing the job? Just a side thought to think about. Bottom line is without that childlike faith, we can't trust God, and without that trust we will fear growth, and without growth we will never stand out and do the job we were intended to do all along...like the sycamore. 

Back to the tree, the sycamore, that now stood out among the rest. It's whole life was not beautiful. In fact it started much the same like all the trees around it. It didn't have a glamorous beginning growing out of the mud and muck at the edge of the water but it had faith in the One that created it that a brighter future was up ahead. As it stretched up towards the sun and grew, like the scales on the blind man's eyes allowing him to see clearly, bit by bit the dark bark fell off enabling it to be seen. The light was always in the tree but it had to let go of its outer shell, it's identity, what it knew, pieces that it held tight to, to have what was really inside exposed. It had to risk losing something to gain something greater. And it did...It no longer blended in but stood out, though still remaining a humble tree among all the others. Though it was a long maybe even painful process for that tree, eventually all you could see was the light inside. And that light was what caught my eye even from afar, like a glimmer of hope in the sea of darkness, and brought me closer to find out what it was all about. “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4  The world needs us to be that hope, with our lives bright shining.  Be a sycamore. Stand out.