Good morning…
I usually think of the word “branch” as a noun. A natural subdivision of a plant stem. A secondary shoot arising from the main axis of a tree. A part of complex body, like a division of a family descending from a particular ancestor.
As I marveled at this magnificent yellow tree, I was drawn to the word “branch” as a verb. To put forth secondary shoots. To extend in different directions from a main source. To be an outgrowth.
By design, branches “branch” in different directions, growing strong as they remain attached to the same well-rooted trunk. Some branch more left. Some branch more right. Some branch more in the middle. None superior, all needed for shade, branches naturally branch out from the same center.
“With growth, it is true, comes differentiation and separation, in the sense that the unity of the tree-trunk differentiates as it grows and spreads into limbs, branches and leaves,” writes Anne Morrow Lindbergh. “But the tree is still one, and its different and separate parts contribute to one another” (Gift from the Sea, 89).
We are each designed to “branch” as an outgrowth of God, extending in different directions from our main Source. Jesus Christ, one of the three eternal parts of our Triune trunk reminds, “I am the real vine, my Father is the vine-dresser… You must go on growing in me and I will grow in you. For just as the branch cannot bear any fruit unless it shares the life of the vine, so you can produce nothing unless you go on growing in me. I am the vine itself, you are the branches” (John 15:1, 4-5, PHILLIPS).
Here’s an important truth for us to remember this week: “branching” out in different directions from the same sturdy center is an essential part of God’s multi-faceted design.
…Sue…
