Three Trees Stood in a Forest
By Richard D. McCormack
Three Trees Stood in a Forest
Copyright © 2012 by Richard D. McCormack
Published by RDMc Publishing
ISBN 9781476168494
Standard Copyright License
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright© 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means–electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any
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Table of Content
Introduction
Three Trees Stood in a Forest
I Could Have Been Somebody
Scarred, Stained, and Abused
No Good! Never Amount to Anything!
Two Promises
The Challenge
Introduction
It might have been when I was a child. I possibly could have been older, but I think it was when I was a child that I first heard a sermon with the title, “Three Trees Stood in a Forest.”
I was raised in the church and I have heard thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of sermons throughout my life (especially if you consider revivals, messages on tapes and radio, seminary, conferences, etc.). So it is fair to say that I, along with you, have probably heard a message or two with the same title. So don’t be fooled by the title.
I began writing this story in 1996 after preaching on the subject of healing at First Baptist Church Miami, Texas. We had a great service. I preached it again in a revival service, a few years later, in Belen, New Mexico, which to my surprise I discovered there was a book by the same title. The book is called The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale, written by Angela Elwell Hunt (since that time I have received this book). Later I became aware that there are numerous books called, in some form or another, “Three Trees,” including a samurai version of the story and a drawing by Rembrandt Van Ryn (Rijn) called “The Three Trees.” Estelle M. Hurll commented about the drawing in her collection of fifteen pictures by Rembrandt:
“The wide outlook of flat country is the setting for the little tree-crowned hill which rises near us . . . Nothing is allowed to grow wild in this country . . . Rembrandt, it appears, almost never ventures to represent the clouds . . . [however], with these few lines Rembrandt conveys perfectly the idea that a storm is approaching.”
Like the background of the coming storm in Rembrandt’s “The Three Trees,” most of us are facing a coming storm or we are in the middle of one right now. These storms may be physical or emotional, spiritual or verbal. They may be our hopes and dreams that have been dashed upon the rocks by a tempest. They may be a physical abuser who will not let go. Whatever the case it is a fact we will all face a storm from time to time.
From the outset I wish to tell you my intent. Although it is obvious and woven throughout the book I don’t want us to miss the reason for this book. My intent in putting this original sermon to paper is really three-fold. First, I wish to describe, on a much more extended scale, the need for Christ in our abused life. I use the word abused to describe just that— abuse. Often abuse is done by a second party, but sometimes it is done by us to ourselves. Some of us might simply push this abuse to the side or cover it up, not wanting anyone to know; however, the abuse on our lives is still real. This leads into the second reason and that is this subject has never ceased to attract me, not the abuse side, but the healing power of Jesus that comes through the abuse. Jesus heals and He heals completely.
Finally, I must say that each tree begins with a dream — a dream that is often times distorted by the world. Dreams of a life that could have been. Dreams of hope and promise. We all have dreams. Yet for most, the fairytale life never comes. However, it is through these dreams of the three trees we will see that our dreams are fully fulfilled by Jesus.
My goal is to write to your heart. I pray, as each story unfolds, that I am writing to your heart as you are probably looking at crumbled dreams, destroyed promises, or lack of hope. I pray that as you read this little book you will allow Jesus to penetrate your heart and show you your dreams through His eyes. Then you will see the beauty of your fulfilled, or fulfilling, life.
Richard D. McCormack
October 2010
Three Trees Stood in a Forest
Three trees stood in a forest. They were happy little trees who grew with the seasons and stood tall waving in the wind. Time and again the storms would come and the winds would blow to test the roots and the strength of the little trees.
One day, as the three trees swayed in the spring breeze the second tree asked the other two a question, “What do you want to be when you grow up, and the lumberjack comes and chops you down?”
The trees swayed for a minute gathering their dreams and placing them into words.
“I want to be a beautiful bed,” the first tree said quickly as his leaves rustled in the wind.
“A bed?” the second tree said, “Why would you want to be a bed?”
“Oh, not just any bed,” said the first tree, “I want to be the most magnificent bed in the world. I want to be so big that ten people could sleep on me at one time. I want to be so strong a horse could lay on me. I want to be so grand that only a king will be able to sleep on me. That is the dream that I have.”
The other two trees fluttered their leaves at the words of the first tree.
“That is so wonderful,” the third tree said, “I believe if you continue to grow as fast and as straight as you are growing now, you will be a wonderful bed.”
“Yes,” said the second tree, “being a bed only for a king is one of the grandest honors that any of us trees could have.”
The first tree looked at the other two trees and noddingly thanked them. The first tree then looked at the second tree and asked, “What do you want to be when the lumberjack comes and cuts you down?”
The second tree straightened up and stretched his trunk. “I want to be a beautiful table,” he said. “I want to be so long that an army could set around me for a meal. I want to have a king come and dine at my table and make decisions that will impact eternity.”
The other two trees rustled in admiration of the second tree. “That would be a good thing to be,” said the first tree.
“Yes, to have kings and princes set around you and have feasts and be cleaned and polished for the banquets— that would be wonderful,” the third tree said.
“Yes, I will be a eloquent table that is only made from the straightest and cleanest cuts of wood,” said the second tree.
Then the two trees looked down at their shorter brother. “And what about you, dear brother. What do you want to be when you grow up?”
The third tree looked up at the two bigger trees and said, “When I grow up, I want to be the pillar of the temple.”
The other two trees looked at the third trees in astonishment. “What can we say?” they thought to themselves. He is so short. Then they bolted out in laughter.
“The pillar of the temple,” laughed the first, “That position is only for the strongest and tallest trees. How do you ever expect to be that tall when you know you are only a. . .”
“Don’t say it,” the second tree said to the first, “You know how sensitive he is and how easily he offends because of his height.”
The first tree then stopped and looked down at his brother with a snicker and said , “Your right, you can be anything you wa
nt to be.”
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