Fall
foliage at Lost Maples State Natural Area in a location is the hill
country of Texas.
The
Wounded Tree
I awakened one night a number of years ago with two words that God
dropped into my mind, "Wounded Tree".
When I asked the Lord what was this about, He gave this beautiful
illustration about emotional wounds. God reminded me that northern part
of the US people grow the hardwood maple trees to harvest and sell
maple syrup. To get sweet maple syrup, an individual will drill a
hole
into a mature hardwood maple tree during February or March when the
temperature begins to reach about 45 degrees during the day
time.
It is at this time that the pressure of the sap starts to build up in
the tree. They drill a large hole in the trunk of the tree. A
spout is tapped into the hole and immediately
sweet
maple sap begins to run out. The sap is then heated to
concentrate it and it forms a much desired, sweet, and expensive maple
syrup.
As I meditated on what this meant, it
came to me that Jesus it the Tree of
Life. However, Jesus, the good
tree, is like the wounded maple tree. When Jesus was
crucified, a
spear was jabbed up under his ribcage and blood and water came
out. It
is a physical picture of a heart that is ruptured. It is a
picture of
Jesus being wounded that all the sweetness of the precious grace of God
might be poured out.
Tree
Of Life:
"And
out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant
to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of
the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil"
(Genesis
2:9).
"She is a tree of
life to them that lay hold upon her: and
happy is every one that retaineth her" (Proverbs
3:18). Jesus is
pictured as "wisdom".
"The fruit of the
righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise"
(Proverbs 11:30).
"A wholesome tongue
is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit"
(Proverbs 15:4).
"He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is
in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation
2:7).
"In
the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded
her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing
of the nations" (Revelation 22:2).
"Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
Suffering of
Jesus:
"Surely
he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was
wounded
for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the
chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5).
"Yet it pleased the
LORD to
bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand"
(Isaiah
53:10).
"Who his own self
bare our sins in his own body on the
tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by
whose stripes ye were healed" (I Peter 2:24).
"He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things?"
(Romans 8:32).
Man as a tree:
However,
the picture doesn't stop
there. We also are to be the good tree. By faith in
Jesus as our
personal Lord, we also are to be the good tree with the life of Jesus
living in us. As we mature and are wounded as the maple tree,
the
sweet sap of God's grace is to flow out of us. It is to be
for the
benefit and pleasure of others.
"Blessed
is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in
his
law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a
tree
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper" (Psalms 1:1-3).
"Even so every good
tree bringeth
forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit. A
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit" (Matthew 7:17-18).
"Either make the tree
good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit
corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit"
(Matthew 12:33).
"In
the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He
that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water" (John
7:37-38).
"But
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of
water springing up into everlasting life" (John
4:14).
"Blessed
be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all
our
tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any
trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of
God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our
consolation also aboundeth by Christ" (II
Corinthians 1:3-5).
Warning:
"Even
so every good
tree bringeth
forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit. A
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit" (Matthew 7:17-18).
"Either
make the tree
good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit
corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit"
(Matthew 12:33).
There is another tree that lives in the
West Texas area
where I
live that is
called the Mesquite tree. It is a thorny, snarled, and crooked
tree. It provides but little shade and saps a large amount of
water out of the ground stealing it away from other plants.
Although a few people use it to make rustic furniture, it is commonly
used for the less expensive firewood.
The tree's sap is not very eatable and
also it sticks on anything that touches it.
The Mesquite tree could be a picture of the evil tree.
Wounded people often are crocked, thorny, and wound
others.
The
bitterness that flows out of them as sap often sticks to those that it
touches. The real question is, "Does
the sweetness of Jesus flow out of us when
we are wounded or is it the bitterness of the world which
sticks to the people it touches?"
However, the Good News is that God is able
to change the wounds from other people into blessings. Joseph was sold
into slavery by his 10 brothers. Joseph told his brothers, years after
his brothers sold into slavery, "But as for you, ye thought evil against
me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to
save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20). Because
of the slavery that Joseph experienced and God's work in his life, the
lives of many Egyptian people and also the lives of his own family were
saved. Out of this situation, came the twelve tribes of
Israel. Of course, Jesus, himself, came out of the
tribe of Judah. God can change the curses into
blessings!
Note: The
bigtooth maple
trees pictured in the above photo and can also be used for making
maple syrup.
Emotional
Wounds Menu