Fellow Christians, can you help me with an analogy/some imagery?

Question

I am writing a birthday card to a friend (kind of), and I need help with some ideas for the imagery I could use. He and I have been friends for about 6 months, and we both feel like God is pushing us o date one another, although we are both in circumstances where we feel we should wait before dating someone. (We're both completely single, before you start wondering) Anyhow, he and I both enjoy poetic imagery, and I was going to liken our friendship to that of a seedling planted by God. Something along the lines of not wanting to rush the tree, because it needs to grow first, and not knowing how high the tree will grow in the end, because only god can know that.

Besides being a bit sappy (no pun intended), do you think it translates? Can you think of a better image that would suit the friendship I described? I really appreciate your input.

God gave Two Brothers each a sapling to care for and nurture. The first brother plied his tree with pesticides and chemicals to make the tree grow faster. The second brother did nothing, but watered his tree whenever it needed. By the following spring, the first brother’s tree towered over the second brother’s. The first laughed at his brother, saying, “See, brother, how my tree is so much taller than yours? My chemicals have produced a taller tree than yours.” The second brother said nothing.

The first brother spent the summer pruning and shaping the tree, and pulling weeds from the ground beneath it. The second brother did nothing, but watered his tree whenever it needed. By the time summer reached its height, the fist brother’s tree had taken on a beautiful shape; the grass beneath it was unmarred by weeds and pests. The second brother’s tree had taken on a wild and overgrown look, and weeds crowded the base of the tree.

The first laughed at his brother, saying, “See, brother, how my tree is so much prettier than yours? My pruning and weeding have created a better looking tree than yours.” Again, the second brother said nothing.

The first brother poured plant food into the can with which he watered his tree, pouring the food on its roots weekly in an attempt to coax more fruit from the tree. The second brother did nothing, but watered his tree whenever it needed. By the time fall came, the first brother’s tree was loaded with fruit; its boughs sagged under the weight of it. The second brother’s tree produced a single fruit. The first laughed at his brother, saying, “See, brother, how my tree bears so much more fruit than yours? My plant food has aided the tree in producing a better harvest.” Still, the second brother said nothing.

When the winter approached, the first brother wrapped his tree in burlap, and placed mulch over the ground. The second brother did nothing at all. When the first brother saw this, he laughed at his brother, saying, “Brother, why don’t you protect your tree as I have protected mine? The harsh winter will surely kill your tree!” And yet, the second brother said nothing.

When the spring arrived, the first brother’s tree had been protected by winter’s harsh winds. The second brother’s tree had incurred some damage; small twigs and bits of bark lay on the ground before it. The first brother laughed at his brother, saying, “See, brother, how my tree has survived the winter, while yours looks even worse than before? Now will you try my ways?” The second brother said nothing.

That summer a storm blew in with a raging wind from the south. The two trees bore the hardest of the winds; when the storm died down, the brother went to the yard to inspect their trees. The first brother was dismayed to see that his tree had been fully uprooted, and was now lying useless at the base of his brother’s tree, which stood unharmed. The first brother cried, saying to the second, “How is it, brother, that when I clearly cared for my tree more than you, and grew it and shaped it and plucked its fruit the best I knew how, still mine dies, and yours lives?”

Finally, the second brother spoke:

“Brother,” he said. “You thought you knew better than God how to care for this gift that he’d given you. You thought it should grow faster, but by making it grow faster, you did not give it time to root. You pruned it to a shape that was pleasing to you, and not to the Lord. When you fed the tree to produce too much fruit too early, you sapped it of its strength. And when you sheltered it from the harshness of its environment, you did not give it a chance to grow strong in the face of adversity. In short, brother, you did your best, but your best was not as good as God’s best. Remember this tree when God brings us another gift.”

Shortly after, God bestowed each of the men with another gift: the woman he would eventually marry. The first brother never forgot the lesson of his tree.

Answer 1

Being in love is great. Are you in love?

Lets forget the cutesy imagery crap for a minute and think about this. Do you want to marry this person?

Do you know enough about this person to say they are the one who you want to marry? Can you accept this person for who they are? Do you have enough common interests to sustain a relationship in the dry periods? If this person were to go off the deepend and become someone you find it difficult to love, would you still be committed?

Try this for imagery:

A gardener planted a sapling in a pot. He watered and nurtured the sapling until it was ready to be transplanted in the ground. He found a good spot by a flowing stream, where the tree would have a constant water supply. However, the soil he was going to plant the tree in needed to be prepared. He cleared away stones and weeds. He fertilized the soil and killed off insects that would feed on the tree. Finally, after much preparation he planted the tree and it was able to grow and bear much fruit.

GOD is the gardener. The person you are thinking about is the tree. You are the soil. Are you ready for GOD to plant this peron in your life? If you are not, then you may be do more harm than good to this person. Its not a matter of time so much as a matter of what is GOD doing in your life. Some people are ready to get married quickly, others may take months, or years.

Answer 2

I don't know, the usual image that people talk about is a triangle or a pyramid with Jesus at the top and the two people as the sides. As they get closer to Jesus they come closer to each other at the same time. You'll have to personalize it to make it fit.

Or maybe you could use something from this passage.

Jeremiah 17:7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

It's hard for me to write something for someone else whom I have never met but I hope this will help in some way.

Answer 3

Your imagery is fine, and it certainly translates. But another one just popped into my head so I will describe it for you: On the front of the card, two figures in silhouette, obviously male and female, standing side-by-side and reaching toward the other's hand, but not touching it, while looking up at the sky where a giant, disembodied finger writes "Do you want the answer?" And you would draw lines that indicate a nodding movement of their heads. Open the card. On the inside, the two figures still in silhouette, their hands almost touching, while the finger writes "Be patient... I will show you."

I hope I don't embarrass myself - or you - too much by posting this!

Answer 4

well if you stick with the tree imagery some good corresponding verses you might be able to tie in are:

psalms 1:1-3 you can be like the trees planted by the water side
and 1Cor 3:5-8 only God can make the seed grow

might be a stretch but that's what popped in my head, good luck.

Answer 5

How about a watering can holding itself in the air watering a small tree? And on the ground near the tree, there should be a container of fertilizer with a big "X" or one of those no smoking symbols over it?

Answer 6

When my wife and I where married,our pastor explained to us like this: My wife is at the bottom left corner and I am on the bottom right. God is at the point on top. The closer we get to God, then the closer we get to each other. We have been married for 10 years. If you tkink God is trying to put you together then just go with it and see what happens. There is nothing wrong with being friends first.

Answer 7

if you want to go with the tree growing, consider Psalm 1. the tree that grows by the river will be strong and healthy.
so, as long as your relationship stays in a Godly light, it will grow on its own accord, without you having to poke and prod.
hope that helps.
by the way, in situations like that, slow is always the best way to go.

Answer 8

If your like use of trees, consider using the parable of the fig tree, from Luke 13:6-9. Look it up, it just may work for what you are trying to convey to him, and nothing works like the power of scripture, so no matter what you use, please be sure to use scripture and of course prayer. God bless

Answer 9

Have you looked into the Song of Songs, (Song of Solomon in some bibles) for inspiration. It's the most beautiful book, discribing the love between God and His people, in terms of the love between a bride and her groom.

Answer 10

Yes, it translates. Wait on each other and wait upon the Lord. Your tree will grow.