Here is a painting I did titled “Tree on Cliff”. The idea came from a photograph of an actual tree I saw in a business trip to Washington state. It looks precarious does it not? It looks to be hanging onto the cliff. What are roots holding onto? Are they deep enough? Can they hold on?
This reminds me of the parable of the seed sower. As you remember, the sower spreads the seed into four types of places: the wayside where birds ate them up immediately; the stony soil where the seeds could not last long; the soil among weeds where the competition and distractions were too great; and the good soil where the plants became well established and fruitful.
The good soil represents Jesus. He provides source of nourishment and a place to firmly anchor roots. The good soil results in much fruit.
The actual tree was smaller than the one the one shown in this painting. Other trees in the photograph had actually started to fall.
What does the picture make you think of? Will this tree eventually fall into the Water? If on rocky soil it will fall over into the water. If it is on good soil the tree will remain anchored and fruitful no matter how steep the cliff is. Jesus is good soil and allows us to hold in any sort of difficulty.
Are you planted in good soil?
