I can see hundreds of trees from where I sit; all are unique — no two exactly the same. There are tall ones, short ones, light and dark, seniors and saplings. Some are gnarled, showing the trauma of fierce storms. A large hickory to my left leans steeply against a colossal red oak. The hickory was shoved over by a dying hurricane as it defiantly took its last casualties. The hickory is still alive, its roots continuing to pull nutrients from the ground as it holds to the oak; and life.

I see the broken and the bent. I see trees with missing limbs and twisted trunks. A young gum to my right is missing bark and branches, sideswiped by a falling pine. The pine was killed by a woodland menace known as the Southern pine beetle. The once stately conifer has crashed to the ground, damaging everything in its path.

A towering tulip poplar on the ridge behind me bears the scar of a lighting strike. It looks as though Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack of folklore, attempted to split it down the middle; the tip of his axe blade raking the hapless tree from top to bottom. The tulip poplar is a beautiful tree, presenting yellow orange blossoms resembling a tulip, hence the name. This one is still alive despite its wound, I hope it survives.

Wild magnolias are scattered throughout the forest. Deep tranquil green, they are a welcome sight when winter strips the hardwoods, turning autumn’s brilliance monochrome. A small bristly cedar nearby also adds a soothing green patch to the gray woods. Its lower stem has been shredded by a Whitetail buck making a “rub” with his antlers.

The variety of trees and their characteristics seems endless, and none are ugly to me. I guess I just love trees. Would trees appreciate each other the way I do? Would the majestic white oak share my regard for the spindly scrub pine? God obviously takes pleasure in variety; just think of the many different species of plants and animals he has created. And the people! Wow, what variety! People, like trees, come with many unique characteristics, and none are ugly to him. I guess God just loves people.

Now, I’m about to say something strange. I pray that I can see people like I see trees — appreciating each one for his or her uniqueness — tall ones, short ones, light and dark, seniors and saplings, the gnarled, the scarred, broken, bent, wounded, missing limbs, twisted trunks. We all seem to have some storm damage. Trees, as well as all creation, bear the “fingerprints” of God; but people bear His very image, a marred image, but His image nonetheless. So how much more should we love one another? People are far, far more important than trees. At the end of time, only two things will matter — God and people.

Let’s pray that we can see people with a godly appreciation, “For God loved the world [people] in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 HCSB) and “Let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:7-8 HCSB). Lord Jesus, inspire and empower me to love as you love; Amen.

Garland Boyd is pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church.