“It could be the eternal project of humanity, to learn what forests have figured out” (Powers, 285). What Jesus teaches and Christians strive for, forests have been practicing for hundreds of millions of years. We happen to miss it because we people don’t listen correctly and don’t live long enough to hear the five hundred year old stories which trees can live out. Take for example how this time of year, forests take Sabbath and rest seriously; they aren’t hustling or working extra to retire early, they are living in rhythm with their created nature and all living things’ innate need for periodic and regular rest. We can find another lesson in their support of their community. Trees do not live alone nor with only those like them; the healthiest trees live in diverse ecosystems that are teeming with life and living in a Divinely ordained communion. Forests even have the capacity to love their neighbors, warning them of disease or pest so the correct chemicals can be pumped throughout the bodies of trees to fend off the attack. Trees don’t hoard this knowledge because they know they are far more a forest than they are a single tree. Today, you are invited to open the Testament of Creation to the book of Trees and try to live into a practice of Jesus that’s written in the bark.
Powers, Richard. The Overstory.