Are You A Mushroom Or A Tree Of Righteousness?

Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in.

                  --Galatians 6:9 Amplified

Are you a fan of mushrooms?

A strange question to be sure but I promise it has merit. 

Personally I love mushrooms...in my food. In spaghetti, on top of pizza, sauteed with beef strips, if they can be grilled, broiled, stuffed, or simmered, I am all in. 

What I don’t love is to stroll through my yard one day and find the better part of it has been strategically taken over by these pesky little fungi over the course of what seems to have been a 24 hour period. Gone today, here the next as it were. What comes next is hauling the mower out of the garage, getting it fired up, and mowing each one down.

Something else I love? Taking a walk either around my neighborhood or some other familiar area and checking out the trees, especially during the fall when the colors are at their peak. 

Not long ago I was walking around the grounds of Greensky Hill, a Native American Methodist church, a place that is close to my heart. As a child my parents would take my sister and me there for campmeetings and revivals in the summer months and to harvest dinners in the fall. For a while my time there went the way of Blockbuster video chains and as an adult, through marriage connections, we have become reacquainted and I have tried to get back as often as possible, introducing its quiet majesty and peacefulness to anyone and everyone I can.

On this particular day I was there with a high school friend just “killing time” as it were. We walked around the rustic log beauty of the church and through each row of headstones which marked the resting places of souls who have long since finished their journey here. We walked through the sacred circle where it was said the tribal council would meet , the doorway to the West being open to show the way from this life to the next, and the four sacred medicines (tobacco, sage, cedar, and sweetgrass) surrounding it. We happened to walk back in the direction of the church and as we did our eyes fell upon what I believe was an oak tree. It may have been a maple--I’m not well versed in knowing one tree from another--but either way it stood regal, tall, and proud, its branches reaching seemingly into eternity. My friend, after gazing at it for a while, commented, “Who knows how long this Grandfather has been around.”

Quite the difference between trees and mushrooms, isn’t it?

Mushrooms can spring up out of nowhere only to be mowed over, stepped on, or to gradually rot and decay. On the other hand trees begin with a simple seed and, over time, grow into saplings and, over even more time, become rooted, grounded, resiliant, and unshakeable. Mushrooms disappear almost as quickly as they appear; trees in the right circumstances stand the test of time.

Many of us claiming the name of Christ fall into one of these two categories--we are either mushrooms or we’re trees. Not just any trees but trees of righteousness!

Mushroom Christians show up unexpectedly and appear to be able to weather their circumstances only to be “mowed over” when these circumstances come. They wither and die in the storms of life. Where once they were seen now all of a sudden they are all but vanished without a trace. 

Oak tree Christians, maple tree Christians begin with a seed which is the saving blood of Jesus Christ healing their souls, redeeming them, and giving them a brand new start. Over time, with the watering of the Word (the Bible), spending time in prayer and with like minded believers in Christ and finding practical ways of serving and applying God’s principles, they begin to grow to maturity. With more time and testing, when circumstances are less than comfortable, when the storms of life come, and it seems as though every devil in hell is coming against them they continue to not only grow but they are rooted and grounded. They stand tall and unshaken. They are not moved by what is going on around them. 

     Jeremiah 17:7-8 says it like this: [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is.

 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit. 
Far too many of us are or want to be "mushroom Christians" wherein everything comes to us instantaneously. Our breakthroughs come to us overnight. Our blessings come to us overnight. Our strength, our patience, our deliverance, our promotion comes to us overnight. Our_____________________________(you fill in the blank) comes to us overnight. We don't want to be stretched. We don't want to have to wait because we believe we're entitled not to wait. We don't want to feel discomfort or pain. We don't want to have to go through stuff. We want what we want when we want it and if we don't get what we want when we want it surely God must not love us.
How many of us know and really believe that this not the way it works?
A tree of righteousness as talked about in Jeremiah 17 is rooted. It's source cannot be seen per se but that source is everything that tree needs to survive and thrive. This tree of righteousness weathers the storm because of that source and because it is not only rooted, grounded, firm, and stable.
This is also why the Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 6 to "not grow weary in doing good for in due time we will reap if we do not give in." Mushroom Christians are wither and die when they face opposition. They become discontented and discouraged when being mistreated or find themselves in situations that are deemed to be either unfair or unsettling. The Christian who is a tree of righteousness stays strong regardless, letting go and releasing whatever it is into the only hands capable of righting something that's wrong, walking in trust and forgiveness. They know the courage it takes to step out and make a deliberate choice to forgive someone who has hurt them rather than waste their time and energy in camping in bitterness and resentment. They also know many times the right thing must be done for a long time before ever seeing a "right" result, if ever seeing a "right" result. With this their roots grow deeper and their joy overflows. There's a big difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is contingent upon circumstances; joy is found regardless of circumstances.

And so I ask you today--

--do you want to be a mushroom?

--or do you want to be a tree of righteousness?