20211101- Are you "Crown Shy"? Huh? Hmm? Err....

 

Above a "crown-shy" tree from Tanglin Halt  (photo taken in Oct 2021)

 See those gaps above??

Thanks to my friend J who 'educated' me on this new found term for such a tree!

Crown Shyness in trees!

Have you ever walked and yet looked up at the trees in a park?

Have you observed such an interesting gaps in the leaves & branches?

A Botancal Phenomenon

Less than 100 years ago, back in 1920, a botanical phenomenon that give us beautiful and impressive images of certain forests was observed for the first time. In 1955, the botanist Maxwell R. Jacobs, described this phenomenon as “crown shyness” after studying various populations of eucalyptus. The crown shyness is also known as canopy disengagement, canopy shyness or intercrown spacing.

There were some reasons for this happening.  Gaps to allow light for photosynthesis, avoiding the insect destruction etc

Reflections

Just learnt this new term this evening!

Our Lord God is so creative !

If a tree that is life giving like the tree of life in my previous post, how much more does our Creator God say about having the crowns of our life?

Are we supposed to be CROWN-SHY?  Are you ready to receive your crowns in Heaven in the time set ahead in eternity for us when we depart from the temporal world?

The word "CROWN" in Greek is "Stephanos" - a badge of royalty, a prize in a game or a symbol of honour.  In the bible, it is a God promise for those who are faithful.

What are these 5 crowns that we can look forward to in Heaven?

1. The Imperishable Crown        (1Cor 9:24-25, 1 Pet 1:4)
2. The Crown of Rejoicing          (1The2:19, Phi 4:4, Luke 15:7 & Rev 21:4)
3. The Crown of Righteousness (2Tim4:8, Phi 3:20)
4. The Crown of Glory                 (1Pet 5:4, Acts 7:55, Rom8:18)
5. The Crown of Life                    ( Rev 2 :10, 1John2:25)

I love the group "Casting Crowns".  A good reminder of Rev 4:10-11.

The vision of John which he saw " the 24 elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever.  They lay their crowns before the throne and say ' You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you have created all things and by your will, they were created and have their being"

Unlike some of the trees that exhibit "crown shyness', I believe that YWHW wants all of us who know Him not to be shy at the coronation of crowns when the time comes.

We shall learn not to count our days or crown our own merit while on earth.  But rather live a life that makes the day count so that we receive our crowns later in eternity.

Amen? Amen! Amen! Amen! & Amen!