The Redwood tree is an amazing creation in nature…the largest living thing on earth. It averages eight feet to as much as twenty feet in diameter, and some as tall as three hundred and seventy five feet. That is a tree taller than the Statue of Liberty, from base of the pedestal to the tip of the torch. A tree larger around and through than a Greyhound bus.

You would think that a 350-foot-tall tree would need deep roots, but that’s not the case at all with the Sequoia sempervirens. Redwood tree roots are very shallow, often only five or six feet deep. But they make up for it in width, sometimes extending up to 100 feet from the trunk. They thrive in thick groves, where the roots can intertwine and even fuse together. This gives them tremendous strength against the forces of nature. This way they can withstand high winds and raging floods.

1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another…”

Peter uses the word fervent, which indicates an intense, earnest focus. There is an intentionality that must exist within our relationship with other believers. Love does not become fervent and earnest through neglect and distance. Friendship and trust and affection grow with time spent together, time that weaves our lives together so that what hurts the one hurts the other. We bear one another’s burdens, we grow together, and we are stronger together. Stronger to withstand the storms that come against us.

This year, an iconic Redwood called the ’Tunnel Tree’ came down during an intense storm that hit California and Nevada. It is believed that the tree was over 1,000 years old. Why, despite what this tree does to sustain itself, did it fall? More than a century ago, men carved the giant tunnel through the middle of the tree, allowing for horses and buggies to pass through. Though it provided a convenience for travelers, it compromised the integrity of the tree. For over a century it has grown weaker and weaker, opening the door for this storm to bring it to its end.

When we allow the world to carve away at us as believers, to define who we are and how we will show up in this life, then we compromise our spiritual integrity. Our identity is in Christ alone, and keeping that in mind will fortify us against the influences and effects of this world.

When we are woven together as the body, defined by our Creator and not His creation, then we will stand firm and weather the storms as one.