SEEDS, PLANTS and SOULS

13 GROWING

Foresters are always talking about growth rates.
Trees take so much longer to grow than other plants,
that anything a forester can do to increase growth rate
is welcomed.

In our modern world dominated by economics,
foresters have got rather obsessed with growth rates.
They express it in jargon such as
mean annual increment
and measure it in so many
cubic metres per hectares per annum -
something that can vary
from less than six to more than sixty.

Another important aspect
is the final yield of a plantation -
which must also be maximised.
Here foresters have to consider
the rotation of a plantation -
the length of time trees are allowed to grow
before being cut down.
If too short, potential timber is lost.
If too long, growth becomes so slow
that money is wasted.
Rotations range from six to over sixty years.

We also have to consider
how many trees to plant in a given area -
generally referred to as
the spacing or stocking of the plantation.
This will effect the size of the individual trees
and whether they can be used
for poles firewood or timber.

The eucalyptus is often a favoured tree for planting.
It has fast growth rate and ability to give firewood,
posts and even sawn timber
in less than ten years.
It is an interesting genus
with over five hundred different species
mostly found in Australia.
They can grow under all sorts of climates and soils.
It has the smallest of all tree seeds,
yet can grow into the biggest of all trees.

Going back to the spiritual plant,
what has the Bible to say about its growth?
Nothing will be found about growth rates,
slow or fast, or rotations.

What can be found puts emphasis
on the idea of steady growth
eventually giving immense results.
Much like what the foresters of the last century expected.
 They didn't worry if an oak took 200 years to mature,
 provided it grew steadily
and produced large timbers for boat building -
"Mighty oaks from little acorns grow"!

The parable of the mustard seed
illustrates the principle of small beginnings
eventually giving big results.
Jesus uses the growth of the mustard plant
to describe the growth of the kingdom of heaven, -
that is, where God's Spirit is allowed to reign:

"It is like a mustard seed,
which is the smallest of all seed you plant in the ground.
 Yet when planted,
it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants,
with such big branches
that the birds of the air can perch it its shade.
(Mark 4:31-32)

The point of the parable
is to emphasise to the disciples
that although they might
consider their work in witnessing insignificant,
it would yield results far beyond their expectations.
This is encouragement to us lesser mortals.
We may feel that our witnessing
is not having a large enough effect,
but given time it will.

Jesus might well have used the eucalyptus tree
instead of the mustard plant,
had he lived in present day Israel.
They are planted extensively there
to reclaim desert and poor land,
and the relative size of the seed and mature tree
is even more impressive.

In the same Gospel of St. Mark,
Jesus used another seed parable
to describe the kingdom of heaven,
here called the Kingdom of God:

"This is what the kingdom of God is like.
A man scatters seed on the ground.
Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up,
the seed sprouts and grows,
though he does not know how.
All by itself, the soil produces corn -
first the stalk, then the ear,
then the full kernel in the ear.
As soon as the grain is ripe,
the puts the sickle to it,
because the harvest has come."
(Mark 4:26-29)

The emphasis is on steady growth, which,
although we may be able to help and encourage,
is basically beyond our control.
However, we do have to sow, and we can harvest.
Paul must have had this passage in mind
when he wrote to the Corinthians
about their various divisions.

Before leaving growth,
there are another two passages to mention,
in which the tiny mustard seed is referred to.
They are found in Matthew's and Luke's gospels.
In Matthew,
we are told that Jesus' disciples
were unable to cure an epileptic,
which he then did.
In answer to their query
why they had not had the power,
Jesus said:

"....because you have so little faith.
I tell you the truth,
if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain,
`Move from here to there'
and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."
(Matthew 17:20)

The analogy here is different
from the idea of a spiritual seed, of course.
It does not mean that if
we just had ungerminated spiritual seed in our lives,
then we would have immense faith.
It does mean, however,
that if we do really have faith growing in us,
we are capable of much more than we might imagine.
 One could say
hat we don't have enough faith in our faith!

Foresters should like Luke's reference
to the mustard seed.
When the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith,
in Luke's account he replied:

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mulberry tree,
"Be uprooted and planted in the sea',
and it will obey you".
(Luke 17:6)

With such faith in forestry,
reforestation would be child's play!
Planting trees in the seas is not as crazy as it seems.
The mangrove plants itself in the sea all the time.
The tree grows along the coast
in many areas of the tropics,
protecting it from erosion
and providing a special hatching ground for fish.

The seed of the mangrove germinates on the tree
looking like a little dart.
It drops off when several inches long,
plummets into the water,
and hopefully imbeds itself in the mud.

Sometimes the seedling floats
and only later sinks, embedding itself.
This happens because different types of mangrove
like different degrees of saltiness -
and so you will find
that their seeds only sink and plant themselves
when the concentration of salt is just right.

I am sure there are lots of spiritual parallels here,
but I have not thought of them!
Maybe you can think of some.

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