If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?  Some folks see themselves as mighty oaks, others as pines that tower toward the sky, a few as willows shaken by every wind, and some as trees bearing all sorts of luscious fruits.

 

In many areas, we take trees for granted.  But in some parts of the world, including our desert areas, trees are few and much to be desired.  This was certainly true of palmist as he wrote what we know as the first psalm in the psalter.

 

In a land devoid of trees (save for what many of us would call scrub brush), the sight of a mighty tree was a wonder to behold, a gift from God that signaled shade from the blazing sun, perhaps fruits of some kind, and, most importantly of all, a source of water.  For no tree can grow without life-giving water.  Many trees will send their roots deep, deep into the soil searching for water and some tree roots have even been known to burst underground water pipes to gain life-giving water.  You see, water is the source of life for trees.

 

And so it is with the law of the Lord, according to the psalmist.  The law of the Lord is not just a set of commandments and "Thou shalt not's."  The law of the Lord is the formula, the recipe as it were, for living a life of joy, fulfillment, and harmony with God, with the world, and with others.

 

And the psalmist claims that when we sink our roots, our very beings, deep into God's law, God's will and way for our lives, we receive the life-giving nourishment and sustenance that enables us to grow and blossom and become all that God intends us to be -- just as a tree planted beside a life-giving stream will grow abundantly.