For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

—Ephesians 3:14-19 (emphasis mine)

To preface, this is not doctrine. This isn’t anywhere close to it. I’m just trying to illustrate and explore what I observe to exist. I really enjoy the language of prophets like Jeremiah and authors like Robin McKinley, who use little nature vignettes to bring life and playfulness to their words.

I’ve recently come into a heuristic that there are two types of Christians. There may be more types—I haven’t embarked on an exhaustive study. But in terms of those I meet and interact with, this has been a helpful heuristic.

These two types are “Tree Christians” and “Flame Christians.”

Both are acting in good faith. Both are seeking God, as best I can tell. But the two come from different angles, which sometimes causes issues with communication and priorities. Like all human beings, we all have biases and blind spots.

Tree Christians are very concerned with Truth. They vigilantly keep watch over scripture, agonizing about translation and interpretation. They grow roots down deep and unfurl leaves, but don’t move. Woodland creatures can find rest under their branches, but they have to come to the tree—the tree doesn’t come to them.

A mascot verse might be this first bit of Psalm 1:

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on His law he meditates day and night.
And he will become like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Now, the opposite of this type is the Flame Christians. Full of zeal—rushing like wind—not always stopping to think. Love and Spirit shines through in their rush to do all the things that have been left undone in this world. Their failings are not in the doing, but in the understanding, the rootedness in Truth.

These Christians like to quote Acts 2:

And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

The coolest part about this visual analogy is what happens when you put them both together—the burning bush. Deep roots, burning mightily, and not consumed. The tree will burn with faith and catch on fire; the flame will shoot down into the ground and grow roots.

We are called to speak the Truth—the Good News—in love. Action, and contemplation. Faith, and works. The burning bush that is not consumed.

I love that there are both types of Christians. Put them in close proximity to each other, and the flames burn away the chaff from the trees, which provides extra fuel for the flames. The best kind of feedback loop. Just trees, or just fire, and stagnation would occur—the cycle would break.

The trick is not to judge each other harshly, but to bear each other up in love.

If you are a Flame Christian, listen to truth. If you are a Tree Christian (and if you’re reading blogs on the internet, you probably are), contemplate why you haven’t caught on fire yet.