German Forest Ranger Finds That Trees Have Social Networks, Too
I read the above article a few months ago now, and knew I wanted to post it here.
If you’re new here, you’ll start to realize that I love random stuff like this. Whether it’s an article, a movie, a dream, something someone said, I feel like I can see God in everything. It’s definitely a gift that I’ve received from Him in the last several years and I find it really nerdy and exciting.
Anyway, back to the trees.
These three facts from the article were really cool:
- “You see how the thick branches point away from each other? That’s so they don’t block their buddy’s light.”
- “Sometimes, pairs like this are so interconnected at the roots that when one tree dies, the other one dies, too.”
- Working together in networks and sharing resources, they increase their resistance.
I’m actually almost interested in reading his book!
Anyway, why does this matter to us? Because I think all of creation is made the same, because God is a creator and everything he makes, makes sense. For starters, God wants us to work together, not compete or block someone else’s light. Just like the trees. Sometimes when you are connected to the wrong things, you suffer. When you are connected to God and the church you thrive because it is Biblical.
Verses:
- Matthew 5 MSG: “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
- Galatians 5 MSG “19-21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.”
- 1 Corinthians 4 MSG 7-8 For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than you can handle. Without bringing either Apollos or me into it, you’re sitting on top of the world—at least God’s world—and we’re right there, sitting alongside you!
- Ezekiel 17 MSG: This vine sent out its roots toward him from the place where it was planted. Its branches reached out to him so he could water it from a long distance. It had been planted in good, well-watered soil, And it put out branches and bore fruit, and became a noble vine.
- Acts 4 MSG 32-33 The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.34-35 And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.
What do you think? Comment below.
