Dear Rose Park,
If you’ve stopped by the church recently and swung by my office, then you’ve seen all the pictures and paintings that have recently gone up. There’s a poster, soon to be hung, of the twelfth hole of the Masters Tournament. A few collages of our stained-glass windows. A painting from one of our members. A gift from my sister-in-law. Even a few Father’s Day presents from my kids. But there’s one picture frame that sits right behind my laptop that always catches my eye.
This picture frame doesn’t hold a portrait of a loved one or even a beautiful scene in nature, rather this picture frame holds a quote. The quote isn’t from a movie or a popular song, but rather it is an ancient Greek proverb. It reads: a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
In other words, a society grows great when women, men and children lay down their own interests and invest in the lives of others. We see this when a church generously and graciously supports the surrounding neighborhood children by giving out food. We see this when we think of others before ourselves. We see this when we buy the coat, hat, and mittens for the person who’s cold. We see this when we send the card of encouragement to the downtrodden. We see this when we visit the poor, the sick, the widow, and the prisoner.
And perhaps in the greatest sense, we see this when God took on flesh through the birth of Jesus. In the most selfless act, and in thinking of us, God sends His one and only Son to live, die, and resurrect on earth. By sending Christ into the world, God planted the tree in whose shade we would sit; by sending Christ into the world, God granted us eternal life through Him.
As we transition into the summer season, I would encourage you to plant a tree in someone else’s life; perhaps you will never reap the benefit of shade or fruit from that tree but someone else will. If this comes to life through prayer, then pray diligently and daily for someone. If this comes to life through hospitality, then send the invitation or make the phone call. If this comes to life through friendship, then answer the phone or knock on the door. Whatever the case may be, it’s my hope and prayer that as we live into the calling of being God’s family we might be willing to plant a tree whose shade we know we shall never sit in.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
Photo by Ivan Bandura on Unsplash