Axing Eternity

Writer Shaheen P. Parshad points out how cutting a tree is choosing to cut short eternity. She reflects on the recent Nepal floods, where more trees were authorized to be felled, to clear mud, which in turn destroyed the very roots that could have held the soil and maybe could have prevented the devastation…

“The root of the Hebrew word ‘El’ used in the Name of God means ‘tree’,” said a Christian preacher in a sermon on the Torah scroll. The declaration shook me to the core. It reminded me how the Lord Jesus Christ has often been mentioned as ‘the Branch’ in the Old Testament, while He Himself calls His followers ‘branches’ in the New Testament.

The symbolism of trees appears all through the Holy Bible. Revelation, the last book of the Holy Bible, mentions trees being present in heaven. Trees have been around since the creation of the world. God created them for the sustenance and succor of His creation.

While scientists talk of diamonds and precious metals being present on other planets, trees have not yet been found on any other planet. Yet, we are bent on destroying this rare resource integral to our existence.

Before and After damage | Image from Startup Trion

The devastation caused by the Nepal floods is a case in point. Ironically, more trees were authorized to be felled thereafter to clear the mud and debris. As Nepal counts its casualties and the missing, victims ask ‘why me, God?’. The erudite ponder the ‘what’, ‘if’, and ‘when’, now that it is already too late.

Once a thickly forested nation, Nepal lost between 1990 and 2005, 24.5 percent of its forest cover including 42,000 hectares of primary forest, though the annual rate of deforestation fell from 1.90 percent in the 1990s to 1.35 percent between 2000 and 2005.

While the calamity is attributable to other geological triggers above the timberline too, tree density could have helped minimize the impact by acting as a barrier to the velocity of mudflows and holding the surface soil in place.

Trees represent eternity. The way we treat ours represents our temporal and eternal mindsets and destinies.

The world has its fair share of ones that have been around for thousands of years. Take, for instance, Methuselah, the more-than-4,800-year-old Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, or the more-than-2,000-year-old olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem.

Trees are revered and worshipped in various cultures and religious traditions globally, while the Holy Bible presents them as not only an essential part of our worldly life but also of eternity. Trees represent God's presence, life, spirituality, and human character in the Bible.

Biblical trees such as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Genesis represent our testing and choices that define our destiny. Adam and Eve chose to defy God and we bear the same character and its consequences even today.

The tree of life represents eternal life. The Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is also called the New Tree of Life, as Jesus conquered death on it, offering a new and eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Given their capacity to regenerate from even dormant roots, trees are synonymous with new life. Their ability to survive for centuries equates them with eternity. That a new fruit-bearing lemon tree grew from the dormant roots of the one my grandfather had planted years ago testifies to this.

So, if you plan to fell a tree, remember that you are axing your own eternity. Kudos if you plan to grow more. You shall definitely enjoy the fruits of your labors.

Header Image from Nepal Flash Flood| Instagram

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