Parable of the Maple Tree

We had a lovely six-year-old maple tree, apparently the strongest and surely the tallest tree in our close neighborhood where four homes share a common driveway. The tree – elegantly endowed with thick, full leaves – elicited admiring remarks from our neighbors. We didn’t know what we were doing to make it such a neighborhood example; but needless to say, we were proud of it and happy with the way it was growing and the beauty and shade it provided.

One stormy afternoon our neighbor, Brother Johnson, who had been diligently taking care of our yard since before I had knee surgery, stood on our porch. “Have you seen your tree? It looks like the wind got hold of it.” I limped my way behind him to notice that indeed one of the sturdiest-looking branches had broken off and in its fall had torn deeply into the heart of the tree, leaving a huge scar.

I was shocked and immediately saddened by the devastation. With Brother Johnson’s help we cut off the sagging branch and tried to bind up the torn area.

As we worked on the tree, we noticed a shiny, dark black spot about the size of a baseball on the scar left by the broken limb. Apparently a disease had been gnawing into the tree, unobserved, even though the tree looked healthy and flawless. When the powerful gusts tested it, it had split apart in that weakened area, and the weight of the dangling limb – aided by the intense, thrashing wind – had caused it to tear into the healthier core of the of the main vertical branch.

We sought professional advice from the Utah State Extension Center and from our wise and caring home teacher, Brother Behling, a farmer who raises fruit trees. Each suggested what we might try to do if we wanted to save the tree, but warned us that possibly there were other hidden damaged areas that could result in disaster when the tree grew larger and more potentially dangerous.

After prayerful consideration, we sorrowfully concluded that for future safety we needed to cut the tree down, dig it up, and replant another one in its place. Denise and I were saddened deeply by the potential loss of something that we had loved so dearly. Our grandson McKaid came to cut the tree down and dig it up.

In my distress an inner voice bore a sudden witness that this tree symbolized a tragedy in today’s world. Recent news reports have exposed individuals in high places who have betrayed the trust of family and friends. On the outside they seemed to be great examples of strength and leadership; on the inside they had a decaying virus of the soul – a latent destructive weakness, leading to their eventual downfall.

Then sprang an even more relevant thought: We all need to review our own lives to see whether there is some deteriorating disease of the spirit that requires mending and repairing before the winds of life rage against us.

As a corollary, when I think of the sadness that we felt over the loss of the tree we had loved so much, I am reminded of the great sorrow our Heavenly Father must feel, knowing of the soul-destroying diseases, secluded in the lives of so many of his beloved children.

I intend to pass this story on that it might serve as a paradigm of a spiritual reality. I pray that I may purge any concealed impurity I might uncover to come more openly unto Christ with greater strength, having become a surer example, inside and out, of devotion to the Savior, the healer of our souls.