It has been identified as a maple from Norway. Already, it is tangling with our gutters. It will continue to grow, if we do nothing, to be about 40 feet high, and spreading to about 30 feet. It seems to be far too big for its present position! But something smaller, such as a dwarf flowering crab apple would look great in that place. Whatever we do to the tree outside St. Andrew's, we all know that trees grow.
Jesus told an interesting little story about a growing tree.
'“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13.31-32)
We may be very familiar with this little illustration, but at its time, it must have seem preposterous.
On the one hand,there was Jesus, with a little and muddled band of followers, set on a course which would lead to his execution. On the other, he is talking about a global movement which illustrated the sovereign authority of God's rule being exercised all over the world. At the time, and in many situations since, the supporting evidence for such a claim was not very impressive!
Most of his apostles were executed or imprisoned, and the scale of martyrdom in the last hundred years has been greater than at any time in world history.
And yet, in the midst of this suffering,we have seen in our day that the growth of the world-wide Christian community is going on apace. And locally, we see signs of growth in our own congregation and fellowship, for which we thank the Lord.
Knowing this, I thank the Lord that this is his Kingdom, in which we all have a part to play.
Best wishes,
Richard
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