The Equation of Trees

I have been thinking a lot about trees.

Trees are an important part of regulating the earth's gases. Forests are sometimes referred to as the earth's lungs. The process of photosynthesis uses the energy of the sun to release oxygen back into the atmosphere. While all plants do this, forests do this on a tremendously significant scale. Without trees, our earth would be an uninhabitable place for any kind of life.

But that isn't all they do. Not only do they produce life-giving oxygen, but they also capture carbon released by all living things and store it back in their wood. Trees are basically magicians. They literally make wood out of thin air. The vast boreal forests and rainforests capture a significant amount of the earth's carbon. The majority of the stored carbon of earth was originally put into the ground as oil and peat by ancient forests. See? They’re superstars.

Ever since I had to memorize the equation of photosynthesis in High School biology, I was fascinated by it. It read like a miracle. Carbon dioxide plus water, by the power of the sun, creates oxygen and glucose. The two basic things we need for survival. Air and energy. They are trees of life. It just felt ripe with spiritual application.

In the center of the garden stands the tree of life. Our journey to that tree requires a daily dose of spiritual oxygen, the spiritual breath of life. The Holy Ghost. Our journey also requires creating spiritual glucose by cleaning up the inevitable "carbon emissions" we make along the way.

Christ is that tree of life. He has the power to clean up our pollution, and He also has the power to provide us with spiritual oxygen by His Spirit. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the light that makes photosynthesis possible in our own lives. He is the living waters in the equation. He is the glucose, the bread of life. He is every part of the equation of spiritual photosynthesis. He is the equation.

The only thing we need to work on having is chlorophyll. We need to make sure our receptors for light are spread as wide as they can be to the heavens. In a darkening world, we need to stand in holy places where the light can reach us.

I believe we can synthesize a new creature as we come to Him and apply His spiritual equations.