Daily Devotions
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD. Isaiah 61:3
This is a parable about oak trees and acorns representing people. What happens to their seed? Some acorns drop on the sidewalk, to be carried away by squirrels or to be crushed under people’s feet. Other acorns fall into the street gutter, but they have no chance there – because underneath the thin layer of dirt is solid concrete. Others drop on the parkway where they must compete with other plants. People run lawn mowers over them. Fortunately, at the end of the sloping street is a tree nursery. Acorns landing there are picked up by the owner, who plants them, nurses them along until he can sell them as little trees that will become big ones.
Imagine a home on that street where parents, like oak trees, have offspring – human acorns. Much can happen to the children. They can become the victims of all kinds of street events. In the city park is equipment for physical exercise, but that does nothing for mental or spiritual growth. Down the street are places called “joints,” where children can play electronic games or see cheap movies, and the older ones smoke pot. These are not places where human acorns can become sturdy oak trees.
But at the end of a downhill street is a school. Here children learn the three R’s. They learn about the world and how to be good citizens in it. A part of their education is to learn respect for teachers. They learn how to get along together, how to respect the rights of others. If it is a Christian school, the children learn the greatest truth of all: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, loves them. He gave His life for their salvation. He wants them to love others.
You will agree: There are human acorns that get crushed in streets, that have no future in the gutters, that can’t develop in parks whose grass is cut by mowers. Those in the fourth group are the ones who will become what the Bible calls “oaks of righteousness.”
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord God for homes, schools, and churches where children learn Your Word and come to love Jesus, their dearest Friend. Amen.
(Devotions from “With Jesus Every Day” copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)