Did you know, the Bible is God’s love letter to you?
I’m not sure how many verses there are about His love, but it’s lots! And right at the centre is one of the most beautiful books of all – Song of Songs. In it the love of the man for the woman overflows, reaching out of the pages to all humanity.
God loves you so much he gave His precious Son for you (Jn 3:16), whether you choose to love Him back or not. It’s unconditional, and once received He’ll never take it away. You could say it’s evergreen…
Which got me thinking about pine trees…
What exactly is a pine tree?
Well, you’ll know what a Christmas tree is like – that’s a pine. They’re some of the best known plants in the world, easily identified by their cones, needle-like leaves and their iconic pyramid-shaped outline.
These woody, branching plants thrive in cool-temperate regions of the planet, especially in boreal forests and at high altitudes. And like other evergreen plants, a pine’s foliage stays green and functional through all seasons.
A bit like Jesus’s love for you…
1. Pine trees remain green throughout the year
You may have noticed, when there’s new growth on a pine tree the most recent leaves are light green and soft to the touch. This is in stark contrast to the older darker leaves that are hard and somewhat prickly having been around for a while. This fresh new growth builds on what’s already established and contributes to the overall growth of the tree.
Jesus’s love for you is like this – it’s always there (Rom 8:38-39) but never gets old and stale. There’s always fresh growth to be had and each year you walk with Him you’ll find even greater depth to His love. You can experience your own new growth which will strengthen the everlasting love you’ve already received.
And the more you believe, the more you’ll experience His love everyday, helping you grow in your relationship with Him. Do sink into His embrace today to know Him more.
2. Pine trees flourish with few nutrients
Because pine trees live predominantly in cold and dry climes there are less nutrients available for them to use. But they’re extremely well adapted to survive under harsh conditions.
Like most plants pines need sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to survive, and use photosynthesis to convert these things into sugars. But the cunning thing is their evergreen status means they don’t have to use lots of energy reconstructing their entire photosynthetic apparatus each spring. They simply grow slowly using what’s available to generate only the leaves they need.
Jesus’s love is like the sunlight. It helps you flourish whatever wilderness you may be in. Matthew 4 tells how Jesus survived 40 days and nights in the desert without any physical nourishment at all. And this was His response:
“People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” – Matt 4:4 (NLT)
Jesus relied on his Father to keep him going. And when you rely on the Heavenly Father, experience the love of Christ, you’ll be able to thrive too.*
3. Pine trees can survive with very little water
In the summer a pine tree’s habitat may become warm and dry, while in winter much available water is turned to ice. And at freezing temperatures plant roots can only absorb water very slowly – getting enough can be a problem.
But pine trees have adapted to the situation by producing needle-like leaves. These have:
- A small surface area relative to volume, so they lose water slowly
- A thick waxy cuticle on the outer surface, which helps them retain water
- Pores (stomata) in sunken pits, to reduce gas exchange with the air
All these things mean pine trees don’t need much water to survive.
And so it is with the love of Jesus. You don’t need a lot of Him to flourish. His love can sustain you because He is Living Water (John 4:7-14). When your roots tap into His supply you’ll never dry up. Even if you feel depleted momentarily, you’ll be like a tree planted by water (Jer 17:7-8), flourishing in all seasons.
Of course it’s better to get as much of Jesus as you can. Then you won’t be able to stop overflowing with His love to other people. And this is what it’s all about, right?
Remember, we can only love because God first loved us (see 1 Jn 4:19).
I pray you’re able to experience the depth of Jesus’s love for you right now, that others will see it, experience it, and their lives be changed as a result.
God bless xx
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*I do realise food and drink is important to life too, but I think you’ll see my point…