The Beautiful Bare Tree

Romans 1:20 NIV “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

God created the world so creatively and magnificently as to remind us of his greatness. 

I was observing my surroundings on a gray autumn day in New York State as I waited for my fiancé in my car. There were cars rushing past on the busy street and buildings and signs to look at but what caught my eye the most, was a bare tree.

I noticed that this tree was almost completely devoid of its leaves. As it has been an unusually warm fall, some of the trees still had a lot of their leaves. But this tree had dropped most of its leaves and was holding onto just a few. 

At first this bare tree just reminded me that winter was on the way and most of the trees would soon look this same way. But second to that thought, I began to notice how intricate the shape of the tree was. The tree was shaped in intentional curves and its branches and twigs popped out in all the right places to form the tree just right so that even without leaves, it was beautiful.

Most people wouldn’t consider a bare tree to be beautiful. Trees are beautiful in the spring as they blossom. They’re beautiful in the summer when they color streets and neighborhoods in a lively green. They are even beautiful in the fall when they turn shades of orange, red, and yellow. But very few people think bare trees in the winter are beautiful. Usually those bare trees turn our hillsides gray and make us think of death and the cold more than beauty.

But as I studied the curvature of the tree and the way it was shaped just so, I was reminded that God made that tree. The same God that knows how many hairs are on my head (Matthew 10:30, Luke 12:7), knows exactly when that tree was planted and how long it had been there. The same God created that tree and intentionally gave those branches the curves and bends it needed to be beautiful. The same God placed each of those tiny twigs in their place and knew the leaves that fell off of them and the blossoms and leaves that have yet to spring out of them. 

The fact that God could know each of those innumerable twigs on just that tree alone, not to mention every other tree in the world, is mind-blowing in and of itself and gives testimony to God’s omniscience and omnipresence. The fact that God cared enough about the world and about his people, to not only create it all with a spoken word but to make it beautiful to the eye as well is a testimony to his creativity and omnipotence. 

But the fact that God put that much time and effort into creating and knowing a bare tree is a testimony to how much he loves you. If God cares that much about a bare tree that most people don’t care about or even perceive to be ugly, how much more does he love you? He put even more time and effort into creating you. He chooses to know even more about you. He has far greater plans for you. The fact that God’s greatness is seen so clearly in a bare tree means that his greatness can be seen infinitely more through you.

My prayer is that as the leaves continue falling off trees and the hillsides turn gray, you would take the time to notice some of those bare trees. When you do, remember that the same God who cares about and knows that tree, cares so much more about you. 

Luke 12:27-31 NIV “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”