The Man And The Maple

A man sat alone on the side of a river. Next to a cottage he made himself.

And by the shore stood a tall red maple. A tree that the man loved very much.

Way on the other side of the river, two little children played by themselves. Dancing in the warmth of the sunshine, looking much like two little elves.

The man sat alone by the tall red maple, lonely for company to share his day. The two little kids called out to the old man, “Sir, may we come to your cottage to play?”

But there was no way, for the river was deep and wide. And the children were forced to play on the other side.

He thought of all the children that had called and wanted to play in his cottage house. But he had to turn them away because the river was too deep and wide to cross.

If only there were someway to cross the river, the children could come and share his day.

But there were no boats and there were no bridges…unless you were a fish there was no way.

But there was a way…the tall red maple tree! The one that he loved so much that he planted as a seed.

He went to the cottage where he found his axe, and he went to the river and he chopped the tree down.

The tree fell over to the shore by the children, making a way for them to come to him.

The children left and they brought their friends and they crossed the red maple to the cottage where…

They played and they laughed with the man in the sunshine. He was so happy that they were there.

And the man was so proud of the tall red maple tree, because the children could come to him…

Children like you, and children like me.

That God is on one side and all mankind on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself man, is between them to bring them together, by giving his life for all. 1 Timothy 2:5,6

About “The Man and the Maple”

The allegory, “The Man and the Maple” was written as a song in 1980 by Marty Mitchell and used in concerts with his performance group, the Sonrise Gospel Team. Later, it was produced in book form to be sold at concerts. All of the story illustrations, except one, were drawn by our local and internationally renowned artist, Jody Bergsma. Her work can be found at www.bergsma.com. The final illustration of the stump was drawn by my mother, Elene Patricia Mitchell.

For more posts on the Easter theme, read “The Pondering Tree.”

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