The Divine Signature

There is plenty of symbolic language used throughout the Bible. However, there’s one metaphor, mentioned repeatedly by several different authors, that I’d always found so curious. Over and over again in Scripture, human beings are likened to trees…

As I came across these photos, all of those verses came flooding back to my mind, with the amazing reminder that nothing in God’s Word is arbitrary.

The apostle Paul tells us that since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature can be clearly seen, being understood through what He has made, so that all are without excuse (Romans 1:20). In other words, His divine signature, as revealed in His written Word, can be found throughout creation. From the very beginning, He wanted His masterpiece (us!) to know our Creator. And so He has given all the evidence necessary that we may know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the One who inspired the writing of the Bible is the very same One who spoke all life into existence, and formed mankind with His own two hands.

Isaiah 44:3-4 “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; they will spring up among the grass, like willows by the watercourses.’”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose hope is in Yahweh. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Matthew 7:16-18 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”

Psalm 52:8 “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.”

Isaiah 61:3 “To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that He may be glorified.” ‭

And at the heart of this metaphor is the beautiful revelation of God’s purpose for humanity. Just as a seed takes root, receives nourishment from its surroundings, and grows into a mighty tree to bless those around it, so does the kingdom of God grow within us.

Matthew 13:31-32 “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Luke 17:20-21 “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Can you imagine how much God loves you, that He put this level of detail into the design of the human body and the poetic words of Scripture just so that you could know your Creator, and understand the work He wants to do in your life? What a wonderful Father we have… He longs to plant this seed of His kingdom in every one of our hearts, that we may grow and flourish to produce the fruit of blessing He created us for.

Will you let Him?