The Difference Between Trees and Brush Piles
Making brush piles this morning, I recall the following account shared by former Wesleyan leader, Dr. Oliver G. Wilson:
"Driving across the plains of Kansas where there are but few trees, I saw in the distance what appeared to be the outline of one of those scrub oaks for which this particular part of Kansas is noted. As I drew nearer, however, and the object began to take form, I said to myself, “Not a tree, only a brush-pile.”
This started a line of thinking: Just what is the difference between a brush-pile and a tree?
The brush pile lacks two essentials: life and organization.
It might be that at one time this brush-pile by the Kansas highway had been a beautiful tree. It may be that it produced shade and possibly food for weary travelers who chanced to pass that way.
What had caused the change? Something had destroyed its life and had broken down its organization. At one time it had been symmetrical and beautiful. Now, it was a mass of tangled sticks.
There are individuals whose lives have become nothing but brush-piles. There is no great central purpose directing their activities. There is no glow of divine life.
It is to be observed that one characteristic of brush-piles is that they become hide-outs for all manner of creeping things. Should a hunter prod around for any length of time, it is highly probably that animals of many varieties would run out into the open. And a life that is a brush-pile becomes a den of ugly, vicious things. There will be jealousies, evil speaking, envies, hatreds and every evil work.
Further observation reveals the brush-pile to be in the process of decay. It will become smaller and smaller with each passing year, while a tree will expand and grow. The brush pile is a nuisance, while the tree is a blessing. The brush pile is ugly, while the tree is beautiful. The sun and rain that destroys the brush-pile feed the tree and cause it to widen its influence."
"Driving across the plains of Kansas where there are but few trees, I saw in the distance what appeared to be the outline of one of those scrub oaks for which this particular part of Kansas is noted. As I drew nearer, however, and the object began to take form, I said to myself, “Not a tree, only a brush-pile.”
This started a line of thinking: Just what is the difference between a brush-pile and a tree?
The brush pile lacks two essentials: life and organization.
It might be that at one time this brush-pile by the Kansas highway had been a beautiful tree. It may be that it produced shade and possibly food for weary travelers who chanced to pass that way.
What had caused the change? Something had destroyed its life and had broken down its organization. At one time it had been symmetrical and beautiful. Now, it was a mass of tangled sticks.
There are individuals whose lives have become nothing but brush-piles. There is no great central purpose directing their activities. There is no glow of divine life.
It is to be observed that one characteristic of brush-piles is that they become hide-outs for all manner of creeping things. Should a hunter prod around for any length of time, it is highly probably that animals of many varieties would run out into the open. And a life that is a brush-pile becomes a den of ugly, vicious things. There will be jealousies, evil speaking, envies, hatreds and every evil work.
Further observation reveals the brush-pile to be in the process of decay. It will become smaller and smaller with each passing year, while a tree will expand and grow. The brush pile is a nuisance, while the tree is a blessing. The brush pile is ugly, while the tree is beautiful. The sun and rain that destroys the brush-pile feed the tree and cause it to widen its influence."
“He who is living for God will expand and grow and produce fruit under the grinding influences of life. The person who is sinful in heart will become bitter, censorious and hateful under the hard things of life.”
Are you a tree or a brush-pile? (Boundless Horizons, p. 105)
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