Sustainable Trees and Lifeblood

Day 166: Jeremiah 17-20

Jeremiah 17:7-8.
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

The Bible often uses evocative language to communicate ideas. In this passage, a simile is used to compare trust in the Lord to trees planted along a riverbank. I love the imagery of those verses. Just imagine trees along a riverbank, roots extended deep into the ground, into the water. These trees survive all sorts of conditions, and what's more, is that they never stop producing fruit. These trees not only survive; they flourish. They sustain us and give us food. So, too, does God sustain us. When we place our hope and faith in Him, we are nourished; we are fed.

God uses concrete examples, such as the trees, to demonstrate abstract and complex principles, such as what it means to trust and hope in the Lord. Thank you, God, for understanding our needs and providing us words with how we can think about you.

In Jeremiah 18-20, Jeremiah delivers a message from the Lord to Judah and Jerusalem. He tells them that the Lord will destroy them if they turn to evil and refuse to obey God. God will even withhold blessings from them. The people respond back to Jeremiah that they will continue to live as they want. They don't care. It doesn't matter that God tells them he is the potter, and they are the clay, and He can do with them what they want. They will continue to follow evil and reject the Lord. So, as a result, the Lord will destroy them, if He so chooses.

God deals with us the same way. He can destroy us if he want; he sure does have the power. He can bless us if he wants; he has the power to do this, too. He can upset our plans, just like he did with Judah and Jerusalem. He could allow us to be slaughtered, leaving our bodies as food for vultures and wild animals, just like he promises to do to Israel. He can destroy our cities, us. He can shatter us.

And He probably would shatter us....except for one thing. Jesus. God sent Jesus to earth, and now Jesus is the one who intervenes on our behalf. Jesus is our Savior. Whereas God wants to destroy us because of our wickedness and refusal to be blessed by him, Jesus pleads on our behalf. Jesus is the only reason we have hope in coming into the presence of God. What a mighty story we are a part of!

The lifeblood of Jesus allows us to produce fruit. It allows us to be like sustainable trees. May we continue to put our trust and hope in the Lord.