As I mentioned in my last blog, we celebrated Easter in Togo- how amazing is that! I was reminded about my Savior and why He came. I was reminded about Jesus- the One who God sent to take my place, to take on my sins and shame, the One who took on God’s wrath and punishment on my behalf. This is Jesus: born of a poor virgin woman (He probably grew up with people saying He was an illegitimate child), was born in a cave with animals (who I am sure did not smell that great), was a refugee in Egypt for a while, had people’s favor until He started ministry, knew what it was like to be homeless, rejected by family and deserted by friends when He needed them the most, and died a horrible and painful death on a cross (and those who died that way were said to of been cursed by God). This is my Jesus- this is the One God sent on my behalf. Is this who you would picture to be your King, to be your savior? The Jews and the religious leaders back then did not think that Jesus was the one who would be their King- who would save them. For you see, they imagined their king and savior to not be born a helpless baby, but wanted someone to come in and save them from the Romans and oppression. But God had a different plan on how He would save His people, His Beloved. His plan was the cross.
Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing there hopes and dreams when the first tree said,” Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver, and precious gems. I could be decorated with inticate carving and everyone would see the beauty.”
Then the second tree said,” Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and Queens
across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me, because of the strength of my hull.”
Finally the third tree said, “I want to grow to be the tallest and the straightest tree in the forest. People will come to see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.”
After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true. A group of woodsmen came
upon the tree.When one came to the first he said,” I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter”… and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he new the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.
At the second tree the woodsmen said,” This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to a shipyard.”The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to become a mighty ship.
When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because knew that if
they cut him down, his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, “I don’t need anything special from my tree, so I’ll take this one,” and cut it down.
When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for the animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he prayed for.
The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of becoming a mighty ship and carrying Kings had come to an end.
The third was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about there dreams. Then one day, a woman and man came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby on the hay in the feed box that was made for the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that he held the greatest treasure of all time.
Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep.While they were on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn’t think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said, “PEACE”, and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that he had carried the King of Kings in its boat.
Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as people
mocked the man who was carring it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of the hill.When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be close to GOD as possible, because Jesus was crucified on it.
The moral of the story is that when things don’t seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, he will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they imagined. We don’t always know what God’s plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, But His ways are always best.
