Did you know that verse was in the Bible? Have you ever stopped to think about why God put it there? Is it just a lesson in chopping down trees? No, it’s much more. This verse has an important lesson for us to understand. It’s a warning that a tree cannot move itself after it falls, even if it has fallen in a bad place.
My friend Arnie was in northern Canada doing some survey work for the Canadian government. One day it was very cold, so the men working with Arnie made a campfire and sat around it to warm themselves. They asked Arnie to cut down a tree for more firewood, but he was not careful as he cut it down.
Suddenly, the men around the campfire heard Arnie shout, “TIMBER!!!” They looked up to see the tree coming right toward the campfire! The men jumped into the bushes to escape, and the tree landed right on the fire, sending a shower of sparks in every direction. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, but they stared in surprise at the tree that landed right where they had been warming themselves.
It was certainly not a good place for the tree to fall. If Arnie had read the verse at the top of this page, maybe he would have picked a tree farther away. He also could have chopped on the other side of the tree so that it would fall in the opposite direction. Or he could have even tied a rope to the tree and asked someone to pull it away from the men as he chopped. But Arnie’s tree stayed right where it fell because the tree could not move itself . . . just as the verse tells us.
God has told us about the tree that falls in order to warn us of another place that is also firmly fixed and cannot be changed. The place where you “fall” after you leave this world can never be changed once you are there. Jesus Himself told us about the rich man who woke up in hell. When he cried for a drop of water to cool his tongue, he was told, “Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from [here] to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from [there].” Luke 16:2626And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:26).
This is why it is so important that you think now about where you will go when you leave this world. If you are still stained with your sins, you will be thrown (not just sent, but thrown) into hell. If your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus, you will be forever in God’s home in heaven. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7). Once you are in either place, you can never change it. The Bible says that once we stand before God, “he that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:1111He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11).
Right now you can still change. You do not need to continue on your way to hell. You can change that direction right now and follow the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6).
Remember that Arnie’s tree did not fall in a good place. Where will you “fall” when you leave this world? Will it be in the good place? Or will it be in the bad place?
ML-04/18/1993