Creosote Faith—Trusting the Word of God in Challenging Environments

Creosote (Larrea tridentate)—also called greasewood, chaparral and gobernadora—is a resinous evergreen shrub that thrives in the warm deserts of North America, including the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, California and Mexico. This plant was designed by God to thrive in areas of extreme drought. It has the unique ability to impede the growth of other plants, thus eliminating competition for scarce nutrients and ground water. It is also highly disease and pest resistant.

Creosote is a medium-sized bush with compact tri-lobed green leaves, little yellow flowers and fuzzy white seed pods. The shrubs can grow to a height of thirteen feet. They have a distinct odor that smells like rain due to the combination of terpene, limonene, camphor, methanol and 2-undecanone oils.

Although young plants are vulnerable to dry conditions, mature shrubs can withstand long periods of drought. They are adapted to absorb water quickly and grow rapidly when rains do come. The waxy coating on the leaves and the fact that they only photosynthesize during early morning hours minimize water evaporation in the meantime. The leaves also fold in half to reduce their exposure to the sun. These shrubs can live for a hundred years and spawn clonal colonies that radiate from a single plant. In California, one such ring of creosote, called “King Clonal,” is considered the oldest plant on earth.

Due to its astringent and antibacterial qualities, creosote was used for traditional medicinal purposes for centuries—treating respiratory infections, gastrointestinal issues, wounds, circulatory problems, dandruff, snake bite and body odor. The tar-like substance made from oils in the plant has been used to coat wooden railroad ties and telephone poles to make them water- and insect-resistant.

In the Parable of the Sower of Mark 4:1-20, Jesus taught that, like thorns, “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” can choke out the Word of God and keep it from flourishing in our hearts (vv. 18-19, ESV). Anything in our lives that competes with God’s truth is like weeds sucking up resources and keeping us from become mature, productive followers of Jesus. He compared dry, rocky places to shallow individuals who lack the ability to persevere in tough situations—not only are such incapable of reproducing, but their faith may wither and die completely (vv. 16-17).

What if the Lord were to give us “creosote faith” which could endure despite dry seasons and impede the growth of competing interests? What if we guarded our hearts and cherished the presence of the Holy Spirit like Larrea conserves water during drought? We can nurture that faith by reading and listening to the Word of God with tender, open hearts (Romans 10:17 & 1 Peter 2:1-2). We can preserve it in ourselves and others by contending for the faith and opposing anyone who presents a counterfeit of God’s Word (Jude 1:3-4). When doubts arise, we may appeal for divine herbicide that kills every doubt, just as the father of the demonized boy cried out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, NKJV).

By doing so, we’ll grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus (2 Peter 3:18). We’ll take hold of those things for which Christ has taken hold of us (Philippians 3:12). And we will dispense the grace of God to others so that they, too, can come to a saving, enduring faith that shares the truth with still more hungry and thirsting individuals (2 Timothy 1:1-2). That’s how to build communities of faith able to stand the test of time and tribulation!

Sources:

https://kidadl.com/fun-facts/creosote-bush-facts-learn-about-the-plant-with-different-names

https://jornada.nmsu.edu/blog/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-creosote-bush

https://florgeous.com/creosote-bush/

https://cals.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/archive/creosote.html

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