Best Tree Ever
For years our family braved the cold Southern California December nights (if you’re from somewhere other than So. Cal., you can stop laughing now; “cold” is relative) and ventured out to local tree lots to choose a freshly cut tree. We’d tie our selection to the top of the minivan, drive it home, drag it into the house, and prop it up securely in its stand, with plenty of water to keep it fresh. After the lights and decorations were in place, we always declared the current tree the best one ever. But at Christmas, we should be mindful that the rank of “best ever” belongs to another tree.
Though not part of the biblical account of Jesus’ birth, the tree has had rich symbolic significance as part of the Christmas celebration for several hundred years. There are numerous stories related to the origin of the Christmas tree. Still, there seems to be a common denominator: Whether it was marking the winter solstice or connected with Christ’s birthday, it symbolized life amid death. The evergreen tree reminds us of the fact that Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). But that new life was made possible by another tree.
Everybody seems to have a Christmas tree story. Some of them are tree nightmares. Like the time my parents’ cat climbed high enough to send their newly decorated tree crashing to the floor. One of our LOC staffers remembers supplementing a relatively sparse tree by drilling holes in its trunk and affixing spare branches from the tree lot. There are likely as many stories as there are families who celebrate Christmas. But even at Christmas, the ultimate tree story is about another kind of tree.
The life symbolized by the evergreen came at a great price. That other tree was not covered with lights but displayed the Light of the world. There, for our sakes, was Jesus, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree…by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
I’ll never forget the Christmas message I passionately preached one year on the connection between Christ’s birth and His ultimate death on the cross. My goal was not simply to preach for applause or the compliments at the door. But we pastors are human, and some encouragement from those listening doesn’t hurt. Afterward, an older woman approached, smiling and ready to greet me. I thought she would certainly give me props for my well-crafted and expertly delivered sermon. But, instead, to my shock, she informed me of her dismay that I would connect Christmas to Christ’s death. On Christmas, she just didn’t want to hear about Jesus dying!
Unfortunately, I realized many people share that woman’s perspective. They will admit “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” but the real reason Jesus came is obscured by decorations, parties, gifts, and the fun trappings of the holiday. As a result, they lose sight of the fact that the cross is the ultimate tree story at Christmas. It’s the story of an instrument of suffering, pain, and death becoming a place of healing, leading to new life; thus, transforming it from the worst to the best tree ever!
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—” —Galatians 3:13