January

Wisdom is a life-giving tree, the source of happiness for all who hold on to her.
Proverbs 3:18 (Contemporary English Version)

Tree Talk

By Erich Remmers

If trees could talk:
- of little children who climbed them to reach for the stars;
- of couples in love who carve a heart and initials in the bark to immortalise their love for each other;
- of exhausted walkers, who under the canopy rest to prepare for the next stage;
- of farmers who sought refuge when the rain came down as cats and dogs. Trees are full of stories of love and suffering, hope and disappointment, and the everyday course of life.

If trees could give advice they would be like people who have gone through the storms of life: Wise. Wisdom is so much more than knowledge. Wisdom processes human knowledge and human experience and compares to the values of eternity. Wisdom asks that pertinent question: “What is the bottom line?” Wisdom makes ‘first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.’ (James 3: 17)

Wisdom releases from the grip of self-righteousness and the bitter fights for personal gain. A wise person is to be congratulated when he or she can keep a distance to enjoy life more. A wise person is to be congratulated when he or she has a wholesome and a relaxing influence on their surroundings. The Bible says: ‘If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you.’ God is generous and won't correct you for asking. (James 1: 5)