I
count it a great privilege since being in the North Land of NZ, to
visit some of the Kauri trees that grow here. I was very impressed
when I saw them.
In
Psalm 24 we read, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness
thereof; the world and they that dwell therein." I would like to
remember that verse for the rest of my days: THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S.
I cannot help but feel that all we possess on the earth man has only
done it by what God has given him to work with. All we can lay our
hands on, God has given us. We ourselves belong to God. He has
created and has given us life and has set us in a very beautiful
place, in very beautiful surroundings. We belong to Him. When we look
at the trees, we see God's glory. He created them as He has created
us perfectly, and that is what He wants to do with us today.
In
Psalm 8:4, we read, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"
When we think of this beautiful world and realize how God has created
man in its midst, we can truly think "What is man?" It is
not what we are but it's what we can become. When we come to a place
like this, God desires to show us what we are and how we stand before
Him, in His sight. What are we naturally, that God is so mindful of
us? What do we have that causes God to visit us with His
Gospel? Just what do we have?
If
we trust God - it is He who has created us, in such beautiful
surroundings. We can trust Him and know that He is interested in us.
I was glad when Les spoke about our hearts being tender and
responsive. This is the condition God wants to create in our hearts
and minds.
We
can think of the Kauri trees, standing in their places where God has
put them. It is good for us to stand in the place that God has put
us, in that place He intends we remain, to stand and give Him glory,
growing and being a faithful witness of His handiwork. We can all do
this and more for others, but there is one thing we must all do, and
that is to stand in our place, filling it as He has planned. We can
allow God to create in us some of His glory. I feel glad for that one
thought that whatever circumstance we are found in, we can be and do
so gracefully. God is a gracious God, and He allows us to stand in
our place.
When
I looked at some of those trees, I was told they had no merchantable
timber value unless their base was four feet in diameter and rightly
matured. Until the tree is like that, it is of no value because the
timber is too small, the heart timber is just too small, and the tree
is left to mature. God desires to create in us a big heart, a heart
that goes out to others, a heart that's tender and responsive, and He
wants to create in us a tender heart, because our heart has the most
value to Him. It is the hearts of His people that have greatest value
to Him. It's nice to think that our hearts, our thoughts and our
cares have that desire created in them to go out and help others.
These little acts of grace can help us help another.
Perhaps
we can all help each other materialistically, but isn't it much
better to help each other have a closer walk with God? This is
the greater thing that has the greater value than just thinking of
ourselves. It allows the borders of our hearts to increase. It's the
heart's timber that is so important to the tree. While the tree is
small, mosses and lichen begin growing and they suck out the life of
the tree. If the heart is larger, these things start to drop
away. It pleases God to create that kind of state in our lives,
where the little hindrances drop away which spoil our walk with God.
When
we continued to look at some of the larger trees, we noticed some
mosses and lichens and other clinging things had dropped off the
trees and the trees stood clear and clean and upright and were a
glory to God. They stood in majesty.
There
are some other things we might mention about these trees. It saddened
me to see some whose branches were broken off by the storms and water
had started to decay them. As far as God is concerned, He has
created our lives and wants us to be perfect so we might go on and
withstand everything. It is sad, if through weakness our faith
becomes weaker; or because of experiences, our faith becomes
lessened. On the other hand, God wants to make us into something
which gains His very best. Oftentimes, it's experiences, whatever
they are, that brings us closer and enables us to reach out to God
where He can foster more of the growth marks of His Son's life in us.
Then we can reflect more of God's likeness, as His perfect
workmanship. He has created us and is still re-creating us and He
wants to see us perfect. He wants His Son's reflection seen in our
lives. If God can re-create us like this, He creates in us a desire
to become closer to Him, and get to know Him better.
In
another place, I stood looking at a place where a tree had once
stood, and all that remained was the stump. The stump was nineteen
feet in diameter and nearby, a few branches lay. The heart is the
most valuable part of that tree and it had been taken away. All that
remained was a few branches lying near the stump, the remains of what
was once a beautiful tree.
God
wants to take from this earth its most valuable part, so all that
remains is the testimony. If we are like the good Kauri tree, God
will take what is most valuable to Him and He leaves behind on the
earth, our testimony, just the same as the tree. All that was left
behind was the tree stump and its branches.
We
can look into the Scriptures and read of the testimonies of many who
went on before. For example, we can read of Abraham, and it's nice to
look into his life and see his faithfulness. God took the most
valuable part of Abraham back to Him, and that's what He wants from
us, our good testimony on the earth. I am glad He is able to take the
most valuable part back to Himself. I am sure it's the desire of all
here to be perfect, to have the qualities of worth, like Christ
Jesus. When our time is finished on earth and God calls us, the most
valuable part will return to Him.
We
sit here today and see the need of having the hand of God re-create
us so all the darkness in our hearts will go out and will help shed
those things that sap us. We want those experiences that bring us
closer to Him.
When
our time comes to go hence, I hope God takes our most valuable part
back to Himself.
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