The Christmas tree and the living tree

I have been thinking about the artificial Christmas tree and its genuine counterpart, a living tree.

A fake tree has no context and no history. It was mass produced in a factory, and looks just like a million other Christmas trees. It was created by man's ingenuity and for man's pleasure.

A living tree has a personal story in its Creator. It grew as a seed, or a sapling. If it could speak, it would share about the harsh storms it has experienced, the bitter lashing in the wind, as well as the gentle warmth of the sun.

A fake tree is seasonal. It makes an appearance once a year. Before its time, no one remembers it is there. After its time is over, it’s packed into a box, kept away and forgotten. If a fake tree is in the way, you move it away, or put it away. It makes no real demand on you.

A living tree is simply there, and always there. Its presence is as strong as the gnarled roots that ripple above the earth, and as solid as the rough trunk that proudly holds up the branches to the sky. Its times and seasons are not dictated by the whims and fancies of men but by its Creator. A living tree changes the landscape. It stands its ground and demands a response; you can’t move it, you have to move around it.

A fake tree has nothing to give. There is no fruit, no flower, and no shade. In fact, the opposite is true. It takes, for it requires external adornment. It needs man-made props to look pretty.

A living tree stands tall and proud. Its beauty springs forth from its true nature - the changing colours of its leaves, the budding blossoms, the ripening fruit. It does not need decoration. A living tree gives. It gives shade to the weary, fruit to the hungry, flowers to the lovesick. It gives throughout its lifetime.

The two trees represent two ways to live, and do God’s work. The way of the fake tree is one of human engineering and even manipulation, for a brief period, so one can tick a box on the to-do list, for the attention and affirmation of man. It relies on a lot of external props to look good and to generate momentary excitement. It is unable to produce true and lasting fruit; it simply has no true capacity to give. It is forgotten once its brief time is up. Afterwards, there is no evidence that it was ever there.

And the way of the living tree? As its origin is in God, so must the initial call come from God Himself, never from the needs or demands of man. Its unique narrative is in God, and hence, sometimes incomprehensible to man. While its story may intersect with the subplots written by human institutions for a time, it is nonetheless independent of them for its thriving and flourishing. It is unable to relate to the fake tree, for its very nature cannot recognise the fake tree as a life-giving partner to interact with. Instead, the living tree participates in an intricate eco-system with all kinds of other living beings in a reciprocal dance of life.

The way of the living tree submits to the nature of life, which is a continuous death to itself. As a seed, it dies to its desire to want to be a seed in order to grow into a sapling. As a sapling, it dies to its desire to continue to be a sapling, in order to become a young tree. As a young tree, it dies to its desire to stay that way and bows to the lashings of a thousand storms so it can grow into a strong tree. It keeps dying, so as to grow, to live, and to give.

Has 2017 been the way of the Christmas tree, or a living tree? How will 2018 pan out? We all have to choose from two divergent paths.