Matthew Sleeth - Reforesting Faith: What Trees Teach Us About the Nature of God and His Love for Us

My hope in writing this book is twofold: first, to begin a conversation and, second, to inspire people toward action.

First, the conversation. Dozens of books have been published on forests and on the nomenclature, genetics, physiology, and ecosystems of trees. Many colorful books describe the beauty of trees. But only the Bible tells us about God and trees.

Gods original plan was for humanity to dress and keep trees. For those of us who claim the name of Christ, we ought to take a long, hard look at how well we are fulfilling our role as Gods stewards.

There are two trees of life (etz chayim, Hebrew for tree of life): the biological trees God created to give oxygen to every creature on the earth, and the wisdom of the Bible, which offers eternal life.

How well are we stewarding the trees? Are we taking care of Gods forests? Are we being responsible or foolish stewards? We also need to question how well we are protecting Gods Word. Have we taken trees out of our theology? It has been said that everything important in life takes place between three treesthe tree in Eden, the tree on Calvary, and the tree in heaven. When we fail to take note of these trees, we risk losing the gospel. And when we lose the gospel, we lose hope.

For those who do not know Jesus, I pray this book offers a ray of light into the hope of Christ. Read the Bible with an open heart. Follow the trail of trees. Then ask God to graft you into his Tree of Life. You can do this underneath a tree. As this book chronicles, its worked for many before.

Perhaps you have wandered away from the church. In college you might have been presented with a false dichotomy: science or religion, empirical knowledge or unthinking faith. Or perhaps at some point in your past you were hurt by a Christian friend or relativemaybe one who, out of ignorance, told you God does not care about creation. For this please accept my humblest and sincerest apologies. But dont throw the baby out with the bathwater. I had a few bad teachers in school, but that does not mean that an education isnt a great thing.

I invite believers and nonbelievers alike to examine the Bible, paying attention to the trees that populate Scripture. You will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the gospel as well as a greater respect for Gods second book, his creation.

The second reason I wrote this book is to inspire people toward action. I spent several days speaking at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. In addition to speaking at chapel services, in the classroom, and at a community event, I gave a talk on trees and Scripture. The talk was all theology and no application. A professor came up to me afterward and asked, But what can we do?

The statistics on how many acres of forest are lost worldwide each year are difficult to fathom. But you can do something about it. Like Abraham, you can plant trees. With the purchase of this book, you have already begun through a donation to Plant With Purpose. Visit our website, to let me know what you are doing.

Together, we can reforest faith!

About the Author

Matthew Sleeth, MD, a former emergency room physician and chief of hospital medical staff, resigned from his position to teach, preach, and write about faith and stewardship issues. Dr. Sleeth has spoken at more than one thousand churches, campuses, and events, including serving as a monthly guest preacher at the Washington National Cathedral. Recognized by Newsweek as one of the nations most influential Christian leaders, Dr. Sleeth is the executive director of Blessed Earth and author of numerous articles and books, including Serve God, Save the Planet and 24/6. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with Nancy, his wife of nearly forty years. Their grown children serve with their spouses in full-time parish ministry and as medical missionaries in Africa.

About Blessed Earth

Blessed Earth is an educational nonprofit founded by Matthew and Nancy Sleeth. The mission of Blessed Earth is to inspire faithful stewardship of all creation. Please visit the Blessed Earth website for creation care and tree scriptures, hymns, sermon outlines, articles, films, books, and additional resources.

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What Trees Teach Us

They are like trees

planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season,

and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper.

P SALM 1:3, NRSV

I love trees. I always have. No one told me to love them; I just do. I love looking at them. I love sitting in their shade. I love hearing the sound of wind rustling through their leaves. But what can trees teach us? Specifically, what can trees teach us about the nature of God and his love for us?

Nearly two decades ago, during a difficult season of my life, I began to search for answers to these questions. At the time I did not believe in God. I was trained in the sciences as a physician, and my search eventually led me on a nature walk through the Bible. This book, Reforesting Faith, shares what I learned.

Before you embark on this trail with me, be warned: my job, my home, my family, the books I read, even the state I live in and the places I travel have all been completely changed by this journey through the woods.

G ODS T REES

Trees grow older, taller, and bigger than anything else on the earth. They have been with us since the beginning of time. We humans owe our very lives to the sap, bark, wood, flowers, and fruit of trees. We are their masters, yet they are our stake in the future.

And trees are beautiful. On the tops of mountains, bending over the sides of rivers, ringing the boreal latitudes, dripping wet with equatorial showers, trees blanket our world.

At night when the air is clear, trees can be seen grouped together at the edge of the forest. Illuminated in silvery moonlight, they appear to have been stopped midsentence. All night long they draw a deep breath, hold it for one count, and then from dawn to dusk exhale life-giving oxygen.

The smell of a pine forest on a hot day, the sound of palms clattering in a tropical breeze, the sight of yellow maple leaves raining down through an autumn skythese are all evidence of trees giving praise to their Creator.

For those with ears to hear and eyes to see, the enormity of the gift of trees impresses itself upon us anew each day. Only God can make a tree.

E MBARKING ON THE T RAIL

Reforesting Faith is about trees in the Bible. Reading it wont make your credit card debt disappear. It wont make your teeth whiter or your hair shinier. This is not a self-help book. Its about gaining insight into why God placed our great-great-grandparents in a garden of trees and told them to dress and keep them. It will help you understand why George MacDonald, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and other great Christian writers cast the heroes of their stories as the protectors of trees and the bad guys as their enemies.

For the majority of my life, I did not believe in God. Thats not the case anymore. In fact, the trees in the Bible are a crucial part of what brought me to faith.

Christianity is the only religion that weaves trees from one end of its sacred text to the other. Every important character and every major event has a tree marking the spot. There is a tree in the first and last chapter of the Bible, in the first psalm, and in the first gospel. Throughout this book well look at how the Bible uses trees to reveal spiritual truths about humanity and God. Well even see how the Bible contains assertions about trees not discovered by science until the modern era.