The Beavers and the Tree man
It has been a month since my last post. How has this gotten away from me? It is pretty much a perfect description of every part of my life. I hate it. I started to write a fables that I was going to use for vacation bible school but it was cancelled. I did get a couple fun ones out of it so I will be sharing them in the next few posts. This was the first for day one. We were going to do a county a day as well complete with a meal and a bit of trivia and learn about a missionary from that country. Day one was in Russia. The theme animal was beavers because of the importance of the fur trade.
The Beavers and the Tree Man…
The arborist put the beavers in charge of managing the river. He told them that they could build their lodges anywhere except at the edge of the forest that touched the orchard.
Everyday the beavers enjoyed a visit from the man. They had a wonderful friendship and everyone knew that as long as he was there it would be perfect.
One day a particularly ambitious beaver couple noticed that the trees near the orchard where bigger and stronger than the rest of the forest. They were tired of their house looking like all the rest and wanted a new lodge, one that was unique from the others. When the other beavers saw what they were doing they reminded them that the man had given them everywhere but that area to build in. The malcontent couple didn’t think that he had the right to tell them where they could build or what trees they could use. They just kept on building. By the end of the day, the other beavers were jealous of the couple’s new lodge and began their own at the forest's edge.
Overnight they built the biggest and strongest lodges ever. This created an enormous dam that stopped the river from flowing into the orchard and flooded the forest.
The man could no longer walk through his forest because it was a lake. The orchard and gardens dried up without the river to water them; everything was ruined. The arborist moved and forest was no longer safe. All the creatures now lived in fear; fear of hunger, cold and being eaten by predators. The forest was no longer bright and beautiful but dark and fearsome.
They lost their friendship with the man and all the beauty he created. Their lives were never the same.
Who Made Everything?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-4
For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 (ESV)
Is there more than one God?
For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:18
...know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:39
If there is only one creator, does He have the right to decide how His creation works?
But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay…Romans 9:20 & 21
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me...Matthew 20:15 a
Do you know the story of Adam the first man?
He was the very first person that God created. God made Adam happy an holy -God and Adam had a perfect relationship in the Garden of Eden. Adam talked with God as they walked along. They were friends. And as long as Adam did not disobey God, it would stay perfect.
Adam had only one rule to obey, what was it?
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17
Did Adam obey?
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6
The consequences of mankind’s disobedience was that they were no longer able to walk with God as friends. They had to leave God's presence. When I say the word presence I am not talking about packages or gifts. I am talking about the fact that God is present or here with us. Think of it this way, when the sun shines on us we feel its warmth and we see its light. Those things are the result of being in the presence of the sun. The warmth and light are characteristics of the sun that we get to enjoy. In the same way, when God is around we get to enjoy bits and pieces of good things like love, peace, protection & being fed and clothed. Those things are the results of God being present - He owns happily ever after.
What is the opposite of love, peace, protection & provision?
If God were to take away his presence it would take away happily ever after, what would be left?
The bad news is that when we leave the earth we cannot take any of the good things with us. They are left on the earth or live in heaven with God. Because of sin, we do not get be with God or stay on the earth forever. That is what the bible means when it says that the wages of sin is death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
Ezekiel 18:20
How is this story similar for the beavers?
What is the lesson in these stories?
The creator asked very little of Adam and the Tree man asked very little of the beavers. Neither followed the plans of their creators it led to losing the friendship they had. It also resulted in losing the care and protection that the creators provided.
Coloring Page in a day or two, for now, the frog and dragonflies…
