Allen Dvorak
09/20/08
-Part of the Mining the Scriptures series
My family vacationed in the western part of our country several years ago, visiting the Grand Canyon and driving up the California coast. We visited the Sequoia National Park in California and saw the giant sequoia redwood trees. Near the particular tree named the General Sherman tree, there is a “slice,” weighing several tons, from a sequoia that died. Sequoias not only grow to be enormous, they live for a very long time. While a tree is alive, its age can only be estimated, but once it dies and is cut crosswise, its age can be more accurately determined. According to the plaque fastened to this monstrous piece of wood, the tree from which the “slice” had been cut was approximately 2,400 years old when it died.
I don’t know how long ago that tree died, but let’s assume for the sake of ease that it died in 1990. It follows that this particular sequoia sprouted and began growing in approximately the year 410 B.C. As I looked at this tree “slice,” I began to think of all the Biblical and secular history it had spanned during its lifetime. The Jews had recently rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah’s leadership when this tree was a seedling. By the time it had attained the average height for a Sequoia redwood (in about 80 years) Alexander the Great had already begun his conquest of the known world. It lived through (although on a different continent) the entire intertestamental period, the life of Jesus and the period of history covered by the book of Acts. It was thriving in America when Europe was plunged into the dark ages and still growing when Columbus set foot on the new world. It saw the beginning of our country and the struggles which have transpired in the United States. Who can say how many people were born, lived and died while this majestic giant stood quietly in the forest?
Sequoias live so long because they are well protected from the natural enemies of trees. Their root systems make them able to withstand long periods of drought. Their bark is actually fire-resistant, helping them to survive forest fires, and contains a chemical called tannin which repels insects and pests. But, despite all these natural advantages, even sequoias eventually die.
I felt very small and insignificant standing next to these giant trees. And yet, for all their beauty, great size and age, they are not the crown of God’s creation. Man is. We are made in the image of God, given a soul which will not die, that is, pass out of existence (Genesis 1:26). God sent His Son to die on the cross, manifesting His great love, not for giant sequoias, but for sinful men. We do not live in this world even as
long as the average sequoia, but God has made preparations for our future. Our destiny, however, will be determined by our short stay in this world. Where will your soul spend eternity?