Patches of aspen riddle the desert mountainsides of south central Oregon, bright against the darker pines and juniper, brighter still against the red and browns of volcanic rock strewn through the landscape. Aspen provide ecological diversity, offering forage and shelter for calving elk, among other creatures.
Basque shepherds inhabited these lands in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They drove their sheep to the mountains for summer grazing, constantly tending and watching for hungry lions and wolves and other thieves. Theirs was an isolated life, enduring alone weeks of summer heat and sometimes-blustery winds. In the summer woodlands, among the aspen groves, these nomadic shepherds left their lonely creativity: with knife blade on wooden page they recorded their solitary thoughts.
Cool, shady aspen groves, oases of relief from the summer heat, offered the shepherds a place to rest, to relax, to reflect. The bark of a large aspen tree often made a wonderful surface for artistic expression, recording a thought or simply engraving a name: “R.J. July 1901.”
Etchings or artwork carved into the bark of aspen trees are called arboglyphs. Michael Crotteau came across this message: “Life is Jesus” engraved into an aspen tree while he was working in southern Oregon near the California border. Photo courtesy of Michael Crotteau
Something peculiar happens when the bark of an aspen is scratched. The wound eventually scabs over leaving a scar. These carvings on the bark of aspen trees, called arboglyphs, can remain for the life of the tree, sometimes upward of 100 years or more. These etchings, which may have seemed insignificant to the artist, remain available to the eyes of the future.
Once, when I was wandering through an aspen grove in Oregon’s southern plateau, along the California border, I came across one of these glorious aspen groves. As I meandered through the stand, knowing the potential for discovering an arboglyph, I found one that struck me as particularly unique and significant. No name or date was recorded. There were just the words of the clear and simple message: “LIFE IS JESUS.”
This message is the substance of the Bible – life is found in Jesus! Jesus Christ announced to his followers concerning himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The Bible identifies Jesus Christ as God in human form. He not only was with God in the beginning (John 1:1), he is God (John 1:2) and he came from heaven to earth to dwell among us (John 1:14).
These same Scriptures name Jesus as the Creator and Sustainer of the earth and the universe, including the sustainer of life. “In him was life . . .” (John 1:4). The profound statement I found on the tree that day reveals the truest reality that faces every human being. He created us. He gives us breath and life, today and every day. But he is also the source of eternal life for all who believe in him (John 3:36).
Sin entered the world through the first man, Adam, causing a rift in our relationship with God resulting in eternal separation from our Creator and with the separation, death. Make no mistake, as babes entering into this world, we are born at enmity with God. The Bible reveals, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But, do not lose heart, the Bible also reveals that “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
This is the Good News: Jesus is life! He came to bring you life through faith and trust in him, the only one who can save, the only one who can bring satisfaction to your soul. He is Jesus and He is life.
Spiritual Reflections is a weekly feature discussing faith in Cook County. This week our contributor is Michael Crotteau. His wife Traci, and two children, have lived in Grand Marais for 19 months. Michael, an outdoor enthusiast and hydrologist, loves to explore God through His Word, the Bible, and through the things that He has made. Michael is a member of Cornerstone Community Church in Grand Marais.
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