The next helper to give a report was extremely tall with a lot of bushy hair. She kind of resembled a tall tree! She had been to Redwood National Park in California, and she had found a God-Connection!
Redwood trees are the tallest trees on earth, but they are not big and bulky like the Sequoia trees. Redwoods only can grow tall in areas with certain conditions. The western coast of northern California and southern Oregon, with their cool moist air and frequent fog, are the only places on earth that have the right conditions. Most redwood trees will live for at least 600 years, but it is not uncommon for them to live 1,000 – 2,000 years if they are undisturbed by humans. Redwood trees have thick bark that protect them from insects, disease and fire, and the wood does not rot easily.
Application for you and me:
This helper had found a God-Connection in the seeds and roots of the Redwood Trees. A large Redwood tree can produce 100,000 seeds each year, but most of those seeds do not germinate and grow.
The Bible compares planting seeds to spreading the Word of God to people, in Matthew 13:3-8 where it says:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Jesus explains the meaning of this parable a few verses later in Matthew 13:18-23 where it says:
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s words. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
The helper explained that the 100,000 seeds from a Redwood tree do not really produce many trees, just like most of the seeds in the parable told by Jesus do not grow. In the United States, there are many opportunities to hear the good news about God and His Son Jesus Christ, who took on humanity, lived a perfect life, and allowed Himself to be killed on the cross to pay for our sins, and then rose from the dead three days later! We can hear the message through sermons in Churches, we can hear the message through Christian music, through Christian radio, through Christian books and magazines, through videos and movies, and through concerts. We are blessed to have so many ways to hear God’s good news, and some people are saved when they hear the good news through concerts, movies, videos and sermons. However, most people that hear the good news in this way are not saved, or else they just follow Jesus for a short time. It is just like the 100,000 seeds from a redwood tree, a few seeds grow into a mature tree, but most do not!
However, Redwood trees can reproduce in another way! This other way involves the roots of the Redwood tree! A Redwood is different from most trees, it does not have a center tap root that goes deep into the ground to anchor the tree. Instead, a Redwood has many shallow roots that only go about 10 feet deep into the soil, however these roots spread out up to 100 feet in all directions from the tree. The roots intertwine with roots from other trees, and the trees hold each other up when storms come! When a Redwood tree is cut down, new trees come up from the roots of the old tree. Most of the time these new trees form a circle around the stump of the original tree. A family circle of trees is created!
Jesus told His followers to go and make disciples, He says this in Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The process of making disciples goes like this:
- A Christian has a friend who does not know Jesus.
- The Christian lives the Christian life, and the friend observes the difference in the Christian’s life and asks questions.
- The Christian prays that the friend will understand about Jesus and come to know Jesus.
- Over time, the friend is drawn to Jesus after observing the Christian’s life and hearing the good news about Jesus from the Christian.
- The friend comes to the point in their life where they know they need to choose Jesus.
- The process starts over as these two Christians make disciples of other friends who do not know Jesus.
- A ‘family circle’ of disciples is started.
This is the way that Jesus told his disciples to build the Church (the Church is a group of believers). It is very effective because the new believer has someone who is helping them learn how to live the Christian life, and to help them through the hard times.
In the Bible in Galatians 6:2 it says:
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Just like a Redwood tree creates a family circle that nurtures and supports each, Christians are to make disciples that nurture and support each other.