Growth

The Psalmist compares the godly to “a tree planted by rivers of water,” and the image is deliberate: living trees never stop growing. The moment they cease to grow, they begin to die and soon become dangerous or obstructive. Scripture uses this metaphor to confront the church with an uncomfortable truth: many of its problems come from “no-growth members,” believers who have stopped drawing life from Christ, the water of life. Like dead trees with rotting roots, they remain in place but contribute nothing and often hinder the health of the whole orchard. A Christian who does not grow is not merely stagnant he is dying. The Lord’s comparison leaves us with a stark choice: grow, or die.