FLOURISHING EVERGREEN

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day – 2 Corinthians 4:16

The Palm Tree is an Evergreen. God wants you to flourish like the Palm Tree – to FLOURISH EVERGREEN. An evergreen is a tree or plant that doesn’t shed its leaves in the winter, but stays green, functional, and verdant all year. Such a tree has green leaves throughout the entire year, the leaves of the past season not being shed until after the new foliage has been completely formed. In the temperate regions of the world, evergreens are like heroes in the winter grip. They are never without leaves, but retain their relevance and usefulness at all times. Many other fruit-bearing trees put on their beauty in the spring of the year; then when the cold winter approaches, they shed their foliage and the life goes down into the roots. This is typical of many Christians who are only vibrant for the Lord in one season and fade away spiritually in another season. Such unstable people are described as being lukewarm, and cannot be guaranteed the promises of the Lord.

Evergreens are tremendously powerful in symbolism. Because they stayed green through the ‘dark half’ of the year, their symbolic meanings include qualities such as: determination, invincibility, strength, stoicism, and revitalization. Unbending against heavy winter snows and brutal winds, the evergreen assumed a high place of honour in many ancient societies. Some early clans brought evergreen boughs into the home as a reminder of the indomitable spirit inherent in all life. Going back centuries, these special trees had a role in numerous cultures and folklore tales. Among Native Americans, for example, they represent wisdom and longevity. To other cultures, they represent fertility and life. Others regard them as “Friends of Winter.” In terms of the spiritual significance, the evergreen nature characteristically typifies constancy, endurance, fertility, wisdom, longevity, and the unceasing freshness of the Spirit-filled life. Evergreens speak of the emerald potentials forever glistering within the strongholds of the recreated human spirit.

Ever-bright and ever-clear, these unique trees remind us of the evergreen nature within our core as New Creations in Christ: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). This is in addition to the indomitable innate nature within the core of every human being as creatures in God’s Image and likeness (Gen.1:26-28). In Christ, we have the grace to stand strong in the midst of adverse conditions. We have the capacity for Christ-like Love – to love the iciest people in the coldest of times. We have the inner resources to radiate the warmth of empathy in spite of austerity. We have the heart-based ability – called faith – to believe God for His best and for the supernatural in a sterile, fact-finding world of reason and logic. Jeremiah 17:8 describes the person who trusts in the Lord rather than in other human beings, in evergreen language: “For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but her LEAF WIIL BE GREEN, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

Ultimately, the evergreen symbolizes immortality. It is written concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord: “who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (1Tim.2:10). From the perspective of eternity, the child of God has everlasting life, and will never die: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jh.3:16). God assures “eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality” (Rom.2:7). There is an eternal MUST in the destiny of the righteous: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1Cor.15:53). Beloved, in Christ, we have eternal life, as well as the hope and expectation of immortality. That is what it means to flourish like the Evergreen Palm Tree!