Psalm 1:1–2 (ESV): 1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

  nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

 2  but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:3–4 (ESV): 3  He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

  that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

  In all that he does, he prospers.

 4  The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Abba,

Though the years have passed and the memories grow more distant, I still reflect back upon my childhood and my memories of the trees that I called my playground.  There was tree at the town park a block from my house that was easy to climb and was the favorite hangout spot of many of my towns youth.  This tree still bears (if it is still standing) many initials of those who visited and carved their names into its soft bark.  Then there is the tree in my own front yard in which my father built a tree house for us as kids.  How many hours did I spend playing in these trees?  It is hard to guess.  There is such sweet nostalgia upon looking back.

Thinking about it, and even looking at the trees in my front yard today, these powerful monolith towers climbing to the sky are impressive.  On the rare occasion a wicked storm arises, watching them bend and blow in the tempest winds and yet still remain standing has always impressed me.  Even more terrifying, the brute force with which they topple and the damage they invoke when their strength gives way.  The devastation that their fall causes!

It is fitting then that you use them here to picture the righteous man who delights in your law, your word; who meditates on it day and night. 

Your law is his water, his sustenance, his source of might and power!  Feeding upon it, he grows strong, mighty, and can withstand the fiercest gale and mightiest wind.  And while he may shed a few leaves or even lose a few branches in the storm, he remains mighty and strong.

The vitality of the nutrition he receives from the word, your law, produces in him an abundant harvest of fruit and life!

Abba, I think we take it for granted just how much life hums and thrives around us; how much you value that life!  Standing at the edge of the woods yesterday, I listened to the noises and sounds from within the cover of trees.  The snapping of twigs, the rustle of leaves, the plopping of things hitting the ground, the sounds of insects and bugs, the scurry of little feet, and so much more.

Plants growing so abundant one would have to pick their way carefully through it find a path down the stream that flows at the bottom of the hill.

Red berries popping out from the green leaves that bear them.

Vines winding their way up any support that they can find to cling to.

Yes Abba! There is life, abundant life within the cover of those mighty towers. 

Just the other day I noticed this life while walking past a peach tree to see friends.  I noticing the bowing of the limbs under the growing peaches, still yet too small to eat but growing and thriving nonetheless.

Sitting at the pond a few weeks back just watching and listening to the evident sounds of life all around that pond, it is not hard to glimpse the signs of life.

Signs we grow incognizant to over time.

Life, abundance, fruit.  It is all around us.  You created life and designed for your creation to thrive and prosper.

You are a God of life and prosperity.  While we do not always see it or enjoy it while yet living in a world of brokenness and sin, you are a God of life and abundance.

And you desire this prosperity for mankind.  You have given to us the riches of your word, your glorious law to show us how to know you, enjoy you, and live in the abundance of life in you that is freely offered from your hand.  You want us to grow into these mighty and powerful towering trees that reflect the satisfying and sustaining power of your word.

Abba, are we towering trees, thriving with life and health, clearly revealing the beauty of the nourishment we are taking in? 

Or are we sickly saplings, leaning limp sticks protruding from the ground, tiny towers that look to have abandoned by their builders too prematurely?

From looking upon our lives, do others see a tree, firmly planted and humming with life? 

Do others see the fruit hanging luscious from our limbs?

Do others eat of it and benefit from the fruit that our lives produce?

When storms arise, do they see us standing firm? 

Though we are twisting, creaking, and perhaps groaning in the storm, are we standing firmly rooted in the nourishing strength of your word?

Soberly, we must also consider the devastation that these mighty trees bring when their dependence upon that word fails and they tumble in the storm.  Even those mighty living towering trees can be brought down if they become weakened with rot and death.  How many of us have seen the destruction they bring when they topple?  So true is that of the righteous man who allows rot and death to invade, who forsakes your law, O Lord!  Forbid that he, that they, that we should abandon the strength of your word and law.  May we never allow the rot of worldly wisdom, of vain foolishness to rot the strength of the word from our lives.  Let us be warned what happens if we should; the devastation is profound.

Abba, when rooted, grounded, and toweringly strong, little can move a healthy and vibrant tree.  May that be true of us.  May we be rooted and grounded in your word.  May we love and delight in your law and by it grow to monolith heights and strength.  May we stand strong in the storms of life and cling to the life sustaining pleasures of your word.

We love you, Abba!