Xanthe Hancox

Who can be compared with you in majesty? Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;it towered on high,its top above the thick foliage.The waters nourished it, deep springs made it grow tall;their streams flowed all around its baseand sent their channels to all the trees of the field. So it towered higher than all the trees of the field; its boughs increasedand its branches grew long,spreading because of abundant waters. All the birds of the skynested in its boughs,all the animals of the wildgave birth under its branches;all the great nations lived in its shade.It was majestic in beauty,with its spreading boughs,for its roots went downto abundant waters.  Ezekiel 31:1-7

Yesterday we spoke a bit about the value of the cedar tree. In today’s passage there are three things worth noting about the way the cedar tree grows.

They grow DOWNWARD. Cedars send their taproots deep, seeking hidden springs and wrapping around rocks for anchorage. According to Numbers 24:6, Israel itself is strong and happy like cedar trees beside the waters. Paul urged the Ephesians to be rooted and grounded in love  and in Colossians 2:6-7 we read: "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith."

They grow UPWARD. Cedar trees have been known to reach heights of over 40 metres! As Christians, we walk on the earth, but our heads should be above the clouds, focused on Christ. As the American poet and novelist JG Holland once said, “God, give us men, tall, sun-crowned, who live above the fog.”

Cedars grow OUTWARD. The branches of the cedar tree grow out horizontally and become very wide-spreading. Stretching out as they do, these branches provide shade and shelter from the elements. Should not our lives also reach out like branches to touch the needs of others?

Prayer: Lord, let my life be rooted in your Word, may my mind be heaven-focussed and may my arms reach out to those around me. Amen.