In the Garden of Eden God created trees, seed-bearing trees according to their kinds (Genesis 1:11-12). Never did Adam and Eve have to water, cultivate or assist in these plants to grow. God himself tended to the Garden (Genesis 2:4-10), “At the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet grown on the land and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land and there was no man to work the ground. But mist would come up from the earth and water all the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and the man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east and there he placed the man he had formed. The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A river went out from Eden to water the garden.” It was not till the original sin and disobedience that caused the loss of paradise. God was himself the gardener of paradise.
Trees and their roots are very important and symbolic to a Christian’s life. Trees are mentioned more than any other living thing other than God and people in the Bible. Trees symbolize strength, many are extremely old and have endured storms, gives shade and rest. Trees give us oxygen to breath. Trees are mentioned in Genesis and Revelation and they are the oldest living things on earth. Trees offer shelter, many houses are built from wood, gives us fruits/food and protection. The roots of a tree are hidden in the ground. They absorb and transport water and minerals from the soil to the rest of the tree to allow the branches to bear good fruit. Some roots are very deep and they help anchor the tree, which gives it strength. The deeper the roots, usually means the stronger and larger the tree will become. The surface of a tree are tough, have many marks/scars from battling storms and each mark could probably tell us a story.
Every major person in the Bible has a tree attached to them. When Noah wanted to know if the flood was over, he sent out a dove and it brought an olive branch (from an olive tree) to signify the land was dry. Genesis 18:1, the Lord appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre. Moses spoked to God in front of the burning bush (Exodus 3) and Joseph in Genesis 49:22, is a fruitful vine. Jesus is mentioned in Isaiah 53:2, He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. Parables used by Jesus about sowing and reaping, wheat and weeds and even the mustard seed (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8). The mustard seed can fit in the size of your palm, but when it blooms it is one of the largest trees and has strong roots. Jesus was crucified on the cross which was made from a tree.
Depending on good roots or bad roots we allow to grow, it will determine the greatness or weakness of the overall tree. It will determine whether good fruits or bad fruits grow. The roots are within us as mentioned in Job 19:28. The heart is the root, whether good or evil. Matthew 15:18-19, But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander. In Deuteronomy 29:18, Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit. We must nourish our roots with reading/learning the Word of God, faith, prayer, love, humbleness, fasting and devotion to God. If we nourish the roots with all the sin of this world, it will not allow us to have a relationship with God. It will only lead to condemnation and hell. Malachi 4:1, For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them, says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches.” When Jesus returns, he will destroy all the evil roots Satan has planted and regrow the paradise, which was lost due to man’s sin. Matthew 3:10, The ax is already at the root of the trees, Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Without strong and deep roots we will not be able to withstand Satan’s storm/temptations. Matthew 13/Mark 4/Luke 8, Jesus speaks about the sower and some landed on the rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil. It grew up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep and when the sun came up, it was scorched because it had no root and withered away. It is important to note that growing good, strong and spiritual roots takes time. Jesus has never said any of this would be easy and daily our faith will be tested by Satan. The disciples travelled alongside Jesus, saw his miracles first hand, probably had strong spiritual roots, yet Peter denied Jesus three times. We are not perfect, we will falter and sin. But if we have strong and faithful roots, growing on good ground we will be able to overcome and get back on the path and grow even greater fruits for the Glory of God. Proverbs 12:3, No one can be made secure by wickedness, but the root of the righteous is immovable. Our faith will be strengthened and we will be immovable against the storms of Satan.
Hebrews 12:1, Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many. We must be vigilant and be aware that evil roots are growing in many churches. They may seem to be rooted in Christ but many are false prophets/teachings. We must be rooted with the Word of God to know that those are not the correct teachings of Jesus and not be deceived by Satan. I Timothy 6:10, For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. This verse makes more sense now more than ever. There are religious leaders preaching about wealth and prosperity rather than the truth of sin and repentance. There are so many famous politician, celebrities, athletes who literally have everything they could desire in this world, yet we see a majority of them unhappy/sinning due to not living a Christian life. Greed causes so many different types of evil upon your life and causes your roots to be weak in Christ. Depression, Alcoholism, Drug use, Adultery, Suicide, Pornography, Murder, Rape are just some of the evil roots that can be associated with the love for money. Our roots must be focused on Christ and He will give us everything we need in this life.
Romans 11:16, Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. Proverbs 12:12, The wicked desire what evil people have caught, but the fruit of the righteous is productive. Once our roots are nourished with God’s word we start to grow spiritual fruits. Galatians 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. These fruits not only helps us have a relationship with God but also shows the rest of the world we are believers. We must display the fruits in our lives, to serve one another humbly in love and be kind, good and faithful. If our roots are holy, our branches will be holy and produces the fruits God wants. In times of hardship and temptation these fruits will help us conquer Satan and be victorious. There are always battle scars on a tree who live for a long period of time. The same goes for our Christian lives. That is why longsuffering is one of the fruits. There will be ups and downs in our lives, but when the tree is rooted in God, it can take the hits and continue to thrive with faith.
In Revelation 14:14-20, and one like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. The sickle is used in farming for cutting during the harvest. One angel came out of the temple and tells the one seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe. He swung his sickle over the earth and the earth was harvested. Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven. This angel had authority over fire, swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. There will be a time during Tribulation where the good fruits will be harvested to heaven and the bad fruits will be destroyed. That will be the moment when God stops watering dead plants and His judgement will fall upon all of us.
Galatians 3:13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”). People forget what it means to the world during that time when someone is crucified on the cross. Deuteronomy 21:22-23, If a man committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. This was a punishment for the worse sinners, a curse, yet Jesus was crucified when He is sinless. Jesus was crucified on a cross for our sins and took it upon Himself to take the curse from Adam and Eve’s disobedience. John 15:1-2, I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. God is the gardener of our souls and wants us to bear His spiritual fruits. When we feed our roots with the Word of God, prayer, fasting and all things of God we will grow spiritual fruits to help us in our life. But if we feed our roots with sin, our fruits will not be worthy to be harvested and we will be thrown into the winepress of God’s wrath. There will be a time of harvesting during the end days and when the sickle is swung, it would be wise to not be in the path of God’s wrath.
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