Community Aid In The Forest

Warren E. Berkley

It is hard to imagine. Some trees not only communicate with each other, they help each other. I hadn’t known this or thought of it, until our recent trip to Utah.

A dynamic illustration of this is the underground root network system of the “Quaking Aspen” Tree. When you look out into the forest you see individual trees. While they are grouped together, what you see is individual trees. Underneath the surface there is a root system connecting the group. If one tree has an abundant supply of nutrients, that thriving tree is able to share the nutrients with struggling trees. It is sometimes described as a compassionate system of communication.

Stronger trees “look after” the weaker trees. Weaker trees are able to “tell” the stronger trees that they need help. So, what you see isn’t really independent trees but a group, a family, like a healthy church – where the strong help the weak and where the weak do not hesitate to seek the help of the more mature trees. Growth and longevity depends on the “fellowship” or unselfish generosity of the members. 

This is what God built into His creation. These trees could not have lived without this “organic” system of mutual assistance and community aid. I do not believe this system of community aid could have slowly evolved (how could the trees have survived before the system evolved?). God built this into nature in the beginning.

Likewise, God has ordained that this system of shared assistance be active in families and local churches. “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Rom. 15:1