One of my neighbors with a heavily wooded lot relandscaped his front yard earlier this year. He took down many trees in the process but left one magnificent white oak. Months later, one of our summer thunderstorms blew through and stripped the tree of one of its main branches. The fallen limb left a huge jagged scar--painful to see. The significant damage to the oak forced the homeowner to remove it.
Later, my neighbor told me the initially
healthy white oak may have suffered because the others around it were removed.
I learned the results of this removal can cause “forest edge effect.” The tree, previously sheltered, was exposed to
more intense sunlight, stronger winds, and may have also weakened because its
roots had been interdependent with the other trees around it. All you foresters
out there feel free to weigh in if I’ve missed something.
It
seems to me a strong metaphor for those who try to go it alone without the body of Christ. We can’t. That’s why the apostle Paul said, “And let us not
neglect our meeting together . . .” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).
Pulling
away from the body exposes and weakens us because we are interdependent on each
other. The body of Christ is a living breathing thing, and we find life in it. And
sure, we can see God on the golf course or at the lake, but if we make a habit of choosing other places over connecting with the body of Christ, we must understand those other places do not substitute for the body of Christ, and we will suffer.
Of course, there are those who for health reasons cannot take part, but God
understands that, and I believe will reveal himself in special ways to those
who are house bound. I know he did this for me when I was unable to be part of
church gatherings because of my recent accident. And also, because I was part of the body, those people came to me to bring encouragement and practical help. Such a blessing.
In
the body, we not only receive encouragement, but hope, protection, and accountability. We are
reminded of who we are and whose we are. We find joy and love there.
So, if you’ve pulled back for one reason or another, don’t be that one lone tree and get "forest edge effect." Draw close. Take a hand. Stay connected. Allow the Lord to minister to you through His people. And like my neighbor found, we trees are stronger because we stick together.