THE PALM TREE MOUNTS HEAVENWARD
It would seem that the variety of palms which climbs upward into the
sky, was bent on getting as far from the earth and as near heaven as
possible. They ascend till they outstrip the other trees, and seemed
determined to get above swamp, miasma and everything else of a groveling
nature. There, in their exalted sphere, they wave their perennial
boughs, and bear their fruit, and bask in the beautiful sunshine, and
live in an element truly above the world.
Are you flourishing like that? Is there something divine in your very
being that makes you ambitious to rise as far above this world of sin
and as near heaven as it is possible to get? Can you sing from
experience,
"I rise to walk in heaven's own light,
Above the world and sin;
With heart made pure and garments white,
And Christ enthroned within?"
God has chosen us to sit together in heavenly places above the mist and
fog and spiritual malaria of this sin-laden world. With the palm tree
blessing in our souls, we are not yearning for the flesh-pots of Egypt.
The leeks and garlic and onions of the past Egyptian diet have no
charms for such a one. He has risen to heavenly heights, where he
catches the smiles of his Savior and is enabled really to look down on
things terrestrial.
When Pharaoh was pressed by Moses and Aaron to let the children of
Israel go, he first refused, then tried to compromise by letting them
worship the Lord "in the land." When this failed, he tried the second
compromise and said he would let them go, "only ye shall not go very far
away." Pharaoh was certainly a long-headed schemer. He knew if they did
not get very far away, he would not have very far to go after them.
Then, again, he knew if they were not very far away, and had a hard time
to get something to eat, they would not have far to get back and fill up
on garlic and onions.
It is just that way with Pharaoh's antitype, the Devil. He first refuses
to let his subjects go. Then if they are bound to go and be Christians
he tries to get them to do their religion "in the land;" that is, remain
in the world and be worldly professors. How many are really deceived at
this point! When the Devil sees that this compromise will not take, he
tries the next one and says if they are bound to be Christians, all
right and good, but "ye shall not go very far away."
How many poor deluded souls bite at this bait! They do not get very far
away from Egypt, and certainly the Devil has not very far to go after
them. Then, when they fail to get enough in their religion to satisfy
the longing desires of their hearts, they naturally turn toward the
flesh-pots of Egypt, and should they feel abashed because of their
church profession in going outright to the theater, dance, card parties
and other worldly amusements, they get them up in the name of the church
and religion, and have a fourth class performance in the church, or
enjoy the fun and frolic of strawberry festivals, bean suppers, oyster
stews, grab-bags, fish ponds, and so on _ad libitum_. They may try to
hide the smell of their Egyptian diet, but anybody can tell when one has
been eating onions and garlic.
Thank God some folks got such a boost when they left Egypt, that they
never long for any of the former life. Like the palm tree, they are
above it all.
Imagine the Apostle Paul attending the performances which some churches
have these days! There are pilgrims scattered over the world today so
lofty in their spiritual makeup, that to stoop to the level of the
pleasures of the worldly professors would be so utterly incongruous that
it would border on the ridiculous.
The palm tree blessing is a high blessing. It is the "higher life"
indeed. "And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called
the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it" (Isa. 35:8).
"There is a path which no vulture's eye hath seen." This is the path of
the pilgrim. It is so high that the vulture in his aerial flights has
never yet been able to look down upon it. Pity such a person? Never! The
world thinks they are looking down upon us, but no worldling on this
mundane globe ever looks down on the palm tree saint as he walks the
narrow, heavenly trail, practically oblivious of conditions below. Let
not any worldling think that he is looking down on God's holy ones; they
are looking down on him and they are so far above, that he looks like a
mere dot upon the surface.
The minds of many are turned toward the airships of the day. The
aviators are vying with each other in long distances, speed, altitudes,
and endurance; but the palm tree saints have solved the problems of
aviation long ago. They have an heirship, though it may not be spelled
exactly like those of the world, yet, for altitude, endurance, speed,
and long traveling, it perfectly eclipses them all. The aviator of the
world may break the world's record today, and break his neck tomorrow,
but the possibilities of the Christian aviator are exceedingly charming
and the dangers are reduced to naught. He is safer in his heirship than
on the earth. Borne upward on the wings of faith, pushed onward by the
propeller of perfect love, with a lateral stability which is a marvel to
many who gave him "just three weeks to hold out," he is still rushing on
toward the meridian sun, and has been out of sight for years. He never
expects to come down again. Some day he will fly so far away from
earth's attraction, and get so near heaven, that the gravitation,
inversely to the square of their distances, will pull so in the other
direction, that he will sail into glory and drop his pardon and purity
biplane on the gold-paved streets of the New Jerusalem, amidst the
shouts and cheers of the angelic host and the multitudes that have
sailed in before, there to enjoy an eternal "aviation meet" with prizes
and crowns of glory for all.