Like a Tree

“Blessed is the man (or woman) who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his (or her) delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he (or she) meditates day and night.  He (or she) is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he (or she) does he (or she) prospers,” Psalm 1:1-3.

The counseling wicked speak wickedness, the standing sinners are waiting for prey and the seated scoffers point fingers… .but we regard no man or woman after the flesh…

The wicked, the sinner, the scoffer have their business and the righteous have their business too.  While wicked speak and sinners stand and scoffers point, the righteous grow… .and grow and grow.  Deepening their roots and spreading their leaves.  The earth fills with the richness of minerals and sappy juice.  Life caws and croons upon the branches.  Favor, fervor and flavor spring up from the softening grounds.  Alive.  Flowing water, seasonal fruit and unwithering leaf.  The earthen sphere is influenced with Life!  For here, on this hallow ground, rests peace.  The righteous have made peace between heaven and earth, flesh and spirit.  

What shall I say then?  How does this thing grow in the midst of wicked words, preying feet and pointing fingers?  How does such a living and healing thing grow?  Peace.  “…to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace,” Romans 8:6. 

It is not a heroic action that ushers in such a state; it is not a magnificent conversion.  No, it is a thought, a simple recognition.  The Body has made peace.  The Body of a Peacemaker.  One act of honest intercession has promised and produced all of these things in the righteousness.  The mind of the righteous is set on this spiritual gift and it spreads its branches, Thank God! and life gathers in its veins.  With blood dripping from its frothy green it implores: Be reconciled to God!

Yes, the righteous have their business too and they so minister it through their growth and maturity like a balm, as a springing tree.  The wicked, the sinners, the scoffers have not their fleshly attentions… .they continue in the peace of God like an upward, outward, reconciling tree.