It was on the fifth day of creation that trees appeared at the command of the Creator, some no larger than a bush and others huge like the giant redwood of California. Included in these were the interesting banyan trees. They always amaze visitors who see them for the first time in India, Hawaii and some tropical islands.
This tree has a most unusual way of growing. Its branches grow extremely long, and supports for the branches grow down and take root as soon as they touch the soil. This provides a new source of food and soon enlarges the support into another trunk. New branches grow from these trunks and are soon growing more supports down to the soil. The result is that a single old tree can look like a small forest.
People or animals can easily walk through these small forests, but, inch by inch, over a period of time, these enlarging trunks press against each other and the mother tree, continually adding to its size. Because of this, the trees eventually become larger in circumference than in height, and some have been found to be more than a third of a mile around. The largest known banyan tree has 350 large trunks and over 3000 smaller ones.
These trees not only provide welcome shade, but they also produce pretty flowers that attract insects to pollinate them. If undisturbed, a bright red fig-like fruit develops. This fruit is not suitable for man to eat, but birds and bats find it a welcome food supply. A bird carrying one of these fruits to a palm or other tree may let some of the seeds drop into the top branches. With the benefit of mist or occasional showers, the seeds will sprout and send roots down to the ground. Branches soon develop and grow just like the other banyans, sending supports down and starting the process that eventually will turn into another huge banyan tree. Eventually the young banyan tree kills the tree that is supporting it.
It is certain that no one person, no matter how far he may have traveled, has ever seen all forms of creation placed on the earth by the Creator. But they are all known to Him, as a Bible verse tells us: “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:1818Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. (Acts 15:18)).
Even more important is the fact that God knows all about each of us and wants us to trust in His love. Another verse assures us that “the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He [knows] them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:77The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)). Are you trusting in Him?
ML-05/30/1999