Sitting with my back against the rough trunk, I look up through the branches to the blue sky
above. Such a beautiful creation that provides home for wildlife and shelters me from the
blazing sun. The tree musically speaks as the branches and leaves sway in the breeze. The tree
is dressed in colors of browns, and lush greens. Oh, how I love trees!

Trees have witnessed many important events in the Bible.
The first tree that comes to my mind is in Genesis 2:16,17 “And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, “you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
This tree felt the pluck of the forbidden fruit and watched as Adam chose to disobey and eat it,
setting the course of history into motion. Adam’s disobedient choice brought sin, evil and
death to all of mankind. So, sad!

Many years later, there was a tree standing tall and strong. It thought it would have a normal
life of sheltering creatures and beautifully reaching to the sky. It was not to be. One day
soldiers came and cut it down. They mutilated the tree into the form of a cross. After being
dragged through the streets, it was thrown flat on the ground. A man was brutally stretched
out on the trees’ rugged form. Now the man and tree were one—nailed together. The tree
received the blood as it oozed into the cracks and crevasses of the tree.

This tree witnessed the choice Christ made to obey the Father and die with the ugly weight of
our sins, which saved us from hell and gave us the free gift of eternal life with Him.
This choice pleased the Father. This choice was the ultimate sacrifice. This choice was love.

No, never again did that tree lift up it’s beautiful limbs to the sky. That tree, brutally formed
into a cross, was given the honor of being the tree that displayed the ultimate act of healing.
I Peter 2: 24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, the we might die to sin and live
to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

Bracing myself on the rough trunk of my backyard tree, I stand up. The rustling leaves whisper
to my heart. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Christ willingly allowed Himself to be nailed to
that tree which was mutilated into the form of a cross! He did it for me. He did it for you!

FOR PARENTS:
1. Help your kids memorize I Peter 2:24. Write it on a 3X5 card and post on the bathroom
mirror, the refrigerator, etc.
2. Help your kids remember the Cross by referring to trees. “Christ chose to die on a cross
made from a tree.”
3. Make crosses from twigs and decorate them with multicolored yarn, while you talk
about the free gift of salvation Christ gave us.
4. Point out other passages in the Bible that describe trees.
Psalm 1, Rev. 22:1-5

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.