Lesson from the Tree

When did it get so hard to climb trees? Yesterday, Megan and I spent a good bit of time doing some early spring cleaning. I know, not nearly as exciting as our adventure last Monday. But it needed to get done. Amidst the cleaning, we found a hammock-swing that Megan’s mother and father bought in Honduras. We decided it was time to put it up. Well, that of course meant hanging it from a tree. After purchasing a long thick chain to hang our swing, I decided I would climb up the tree to set it up. That was when I realized how hard it is to climb trees nowadays. Have trees gotten more complicated in the last twenty years? Has something occurred in the ecosystem in which trees have responded by becoming climb-proof pieces of God’s creation? Surely I didn’t have this much trouble as an eight or nine year old, when I spent a lot of time running through the woods and hanging from trees. I think, as I sat on a branch some twenty feet above the ground that the trees haven’t changed. Unfortunately, I have.

Thinking about this, I thought about a little guy I met named Charley. Charley is missing one arm from his elbow down. Yet, I have watched him climb in and out of countless trees with reckless abandonment. Charley is simply not scared of falling out, so he goes as high as the tree will allow. And he does it one handed. He simply doesn’t see the consequences of falling like I do. For him, he would dust himself off and move on, maybe wearing a cast for awhile. Me, I’m thinking about falling and the death that awaits me. I’m thinking it would be really hard to minister to folks while on crutches, not impossible mind you, just difficult. I guess it must be an age thing. Have I really reached the age in which I am too old to appreciate climbing a tree?

But then, I think about someone else I’ve heard about who climbed a tree. I’m pretty sure that Zacchaeus was older than I am right now. After all, he was wealthy and chief tax collector. He had to be a little older than me, right? And he didn’t think twice about climbing up that sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passed by. I guess he had the right motivation that suspended his fear of falling out of the tree. In order to see the Lord, he had to do what was necessary, even if it meant climbing a tree. I think that’s a big deal. I wonder how many times we stop short of doing things because we are afraid of the consequences. How many times are we afraid to hold someone accountable because they in turn might hold us accountable? How many times do we not help someone because we are afraid they will become dependent? How many times do we fail to offer Jesus Christ because we are afraid what someone might think about us? I’ve thought a lot about fear since yesterday. It’s amazing where simply climbing a tree can lead you.