The Tale of the Weed and the White Oak

In a world continuously changing and moving towards what comes next, we may examine two distinct examples from nature as it comes to our growth into Christlikeness. Every person I have met, me included, has been guilty of rushing and constantly looking to what comes next. A prime example of this, as memory serves, comes from childhood, when one could barely wait for an adult to have the freedom to do whatever joys or fancies came to mind. Now, entering the threshold to late thirties, if the opportunity were present to admonish the younger self to be content as a child free from responsibility, cares for a job, a family, and the onslaught of a mad world, you best believe that the message would be told with love, enthusiasm, and urgency.

In the fast-paced world, each reader observes as a norm, people, organizations, and even spiritual growth is presented best if development takes place at the rate of your typical garden grass weed. Dr. Google states, "Weeds have been known to grow up to 3 inches in 24 hours under the right conditions." Considering the size of the plant, that is incredible growth for 24 hours of life. The problem is that growth is a mile-wide and an inch deep regarding the development quality and the plant's offerings.

Take an oak, in contrast, which must undergo a more rigorous and expanded timeline to reach its fullest growth potential. Dr. Google purports, "A mature White Oak...the tree reaches full maturity after 30-40 years because it requires a growth rate of 1-2 feet per year." That is growth; it goes a mile deep and an inch wide. Yet, if the reader applies the measure of the "quick-and-easy" growth plan that individuals are indoctrinated to obey, the oak will fail at a staggering rate. After all, if compared with the common grass weed, a white oak would grow at a maximum growth rate of 0.065 inches per day, compared to the weed's 3 inches in the same period.

Why make such a fuss about the weed and the oak? Because both these plants can help us illustrate our growth as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be about quality. Read Psalm 119, take a good measure of time to read it carefully, and you will see the beauty of a slow and steady growth process that takes a lifetime, much like a white oak (40-50 years). The quality component is often compromised when we speed through the process to give growth that fades within days.

Discipleship is meant to resemble a mighty oak, not a flimsy blade of grass. Think of building a structure. Grass, or weeds, would not support much weight, and the simple condition of the material would make it nearly impossible to use it as anything else other than fodder for animals or kindling for fire. But an oak tree can produce sturdy planks and beams that give shape to a home, a store building, or a shed to keep people, animals, and things safe from the elements. The same is true with Christianity. It is not meant to be flamboyant and scandalous. Christianity is intended to be a steady and reliable source of comfort, protection, and God-honoring joyful fun.

Take time to meditate on your growth as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Have you been focusing on the quantity of growth, or have you been focusing on the quality of growth?

Are you more like a weed with a mile-wide and an inch-deep understanding of the gospel and the scriptures?

Or are you more like a white oak, steady on its slow growth that leads to reaching the heavens by growing deep roots into Scripture that are an inch wide and a mile deep?