Part of the enjoyment of spring is awakening to see the many shades of green new leaves with their multiple shapes. Every tree has a common form: upright, with roots in the ground and branches that spread out in a distinct silhouette. Granted, there are some exceptions, such as the banyan tree, but we can easily distinguish a tree from a bush or a flower. Yet even flowers and bushes follow this similar pattern of roots, stems, branches and blossoms. Within that similarity are millions of variations on the theme.
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” (1)
We know that there are thousands, if not millions, of kinds of seeds. Most plants use seeds to reproduce. Others, such as ferns and mosses, produce spores. And then there are the fungi. We’ll leave that for another day.
We can see the seed pods hanging from the trees, such as the winged seeds of the maples. Or we find the seeds inside the fruit. Apple, cherry, papaya, and pear trees look similar in form, but they yield very different seeds. Anyone who has bitten into an apple seed remembers the bitter taste. Tiny teardrop seeds are embedded in capsules inside the fruit. Pear seeds as similarly embedded. Papayas sport shiny black, round seeds running up the middle of the fruit. And we all know how hard the cherry pit is! Anyone who has tried to cut a mango knows how tenacious that seed pit clings to its fruit.
It’s easy to see when the Lord created our seed-bearing trees and plants that He did so with amazing variety. Yet they all have structural similarities. Take some time to look for the seed pods of the trees and the plants and wildflowers in the understory. Often the seedpods are as lovely as the blossoms. An abundant gift that we so often take for granted.
God created humans with a great deal of commonality. We are upright beings with two arms and legs and a head on our neck. We all have faces and hair, yet every human’s DNA is as different as the snowflakes that fall in winter. We are different, yet similar. But humans, unlike other animals, have one distinction. God created us in His image. Do not take that lightly. Biblical scholars don’t know precisely what “in His image” means, but we know the implication. He tells us we are “fearfully and wonderfully” made. Thus, we are similar but different, and His creative hand inextricably links us.
What distinguishes us from other life is our capacity for rational and creative thought and the possibility of our body receiving the Holy Spirit within. The Lord naturally bonds us in our shared humanity. But He eternally bonds us with Him when He takes up residence in us. Once the Holy Spirit lives in you, you share a bond with the Lord that makes you children of His. That bond melds you spiritually with every other Christian in whom He dwells and goes with your soul to your eternal home.
I don’t know what plants and trees will be in heaven. But I know what our Lord created and left us to steward is precious and wonderful. And you can appreciate His handiwork every day with the people you meet. Find those who He indwells and look to tell others about that gift of new life. Praise Him every day when you see some part of this gift displayed around you in nature and in humanity. He will reward you with the amazement of its abundance. Then you will praise Him even more!
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
Psalm 139:14 ESV
- Genesis 1:29 ESV (Emphasis mine)
