Learning from Nature and Scripture How to Live Together
Nature seems to have a communication system all its own. Plant species find a way to co-exist and even cooperate with one another. This came to my attention earlier this week when I was driving home from the church on Mechanicsburg Road. I looked up and noticed a canopy of trees covering the roadway, casting a pleasant shade from the sun. As I looked more closely, I realized that two of the trees — each on opposite sides of the asphalt below — had come together and met in the middle, intertwining their branches to form a bridge-like structure for squirrels to cross and avoid the dangerous traffic.
All of this caused me to wonder why we, as humans, can’t, or won’t, do the same thing. After all, aren’t we more intelligent than the trees and the small animals who live there? And when we come together like that, we have an opportunity to build harmony and eliminate conflict by providing a pathway of safe passage for all.
Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers (and, of course, sisters) dwell in unity.” Matthew 5:9 says, “How blessed are those who make peace; they shall be called Children of God.”
I think we can learn a lesson from nature and from Scripture, as well as Pop Culture, like the 1965 ballad by The Youngbloods, which offers this refrain of wisdom: “C’mon people now, smile on your brother (and sister), everybody get together and love one another right now!”