OP-ED: WHERE A TREE FALLS
By Van Yandell
We’ve heard the question asked for years, “When a tree falls in the woods and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” If there are birds, squirrels or other wildlife, do they receive the sound waves? Of course they do.
The basic motive of that question is, if there’s not an eardrum close for the sound waves to land on, is there actually a sound produced?
It seems to me the obvious answer is “who cares?” Some of life’s most philosophical or scientific questions do not really matter and have nothing to do with our lives, well-being or even more importantly, eternity.
Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time in the woods with a chainsaw, cutting dead trees for firewood in the fireplace and wood stove in the basement.
Dead trees, especially the big ones are often called “widow-makers.” We never know when a big limb from high up is going to break off and come crashing down.
When teaching industrial arts, I cut ash trees, took them to a saw mill and had them sawed into 3×3’s for students to lathe turn into ball bats. Walnut and cherry trees were cut to make lamps, bed foot and head boards, tables and many other furniture pieces.
An even more important consideration by the timber cutter than the sound made by a falling tree is, where is a tree going when it falls?
I’ve seen trees literally jump off stumps and go in the most unexpected places. I’ve felt the ground shake when a big tree hit the ground. Trees two-thirds cut have split from the stump twenty feet up the trunk and the split off part kicked back hard enough to launch a satellite.
Every trip to the woods offers surprises. Cutting into a yellow-jackets nest offers a new experience.
All in all, I love being in the forests. I still enjoy a walk in the woods of a few miles. We live in an area in Western Kentucky near the Land Between the Lakes. The LBL is a 170 thousand acre national recreation area.
There are miles of hiking trails just waiting for a good leg and lung work-out. It’s a great feeling to come home after a hike, totally exhausted, have a PBJ and glass of water and hit the mattress for 7 hours of rejuvenating sleep.
For the Christian, the mission field is like an experience in the forest. Like a cut tree, we never know where our words are going to fall. Like the sound of our voices, we never know if the listener is going to be receptive or not.
I have gotten emails from readers in places where I had no idea these articles had been published. I love hearing from readers even if they disagree.
Writing has become an obsession. Actually, truth be known, the obsession is seeing non-believers in Christ Jesus come to Him in confession and repentance.
Christians use the term “saved” to indicate a spiritual, faith based belief in our Creator God Jesus. The Bible teaches there is an afterlife. Saved means “saved from our sin.”
Romans 3: 23 “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” All means all; every one of us, all eight billion plus of us; no one is exempt! Being a sinner does not mean one is a mean, evil person; just human.
The Glory of God is His righteousness. We humans do not have that. We do things, say things and often think things that are an affront to God and for those, we need forgiveness.
The only forgiveness of our sin is to confess (simply be willing to admit we are sinners), repent (change), believe in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and ask Him in a prayer to save us.
1 John 1: 9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It’s really quite simple and eternally determining. John 3: 16 Jesus said “Whosoever (that’s you and me) believes in Me, shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Those are not just words; that is an absolute promise from God Himself (John 1: 1-3).
Our mission field is wherever we are at the time. Experience both here in the U.S. and other countries have taught me there are spiritually lost people everywhere.
The Bible teaches there is only one eternal salvation. That is by a faith based belief (Ephesians 2: 8) that Christ Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27: 35) for the remission of sin (Romans 4: 25), resurrected (Matthew 28: 6) and ascended alive into Heaven (Acts 1: 9).
Most of us will cross paths with someone today that needs Christ Jesus. I have come to believe there are many words that are NOT said. For the disciple of Christ, our admonition from Him is to tell others (Matthew 28: 19-20, Acts 1: 8).
I read a statement lately that said men on average speak 7,000 words each day and women speak 21,000 words. I told wife Margie and she said “That’s because we have to repeat everything twice.”
We must realize there are trillions of wasted words spoken ever minute on this earth. Perhaps we need to speak the words, “Christ Jesus died for the remission sin. If you believe this, you will have eternal life!”
As in “when a tree falls’ and no one hears it,” We must speak the name of Jesus so someone will hear.
Van Yandell is a retired Industrial Arts teacher, an ordained gospel evangelist and missionary. His email is vmy3451@gmail.com
