A word fitly spoken is like APPLES OF GOLD in a setting of silver – Proverbs 25v11
According to Wikipedia there is an olive tree in Portugal that is 3350 years old. But what is even more amazing is there is a tree in Croatia that is 1600 years old and still bears fruit-not as much as it did 1580 years ago, but a crop of 30 kg of olives last year is still an impressive amount for such an old tree. It reminds me of Psalm 92 verse12- “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. The righteous are not “goody goodies”, but those who have entrusted their lives to Jesus Christ and are in a right relationship with God. We notice they “flourish’ because they are planted in the house of the Lord. Friends if you are not a committed member of a Christ centred church which gives shade, nourishment and where ‘iron sharpens iron’ then find one and you will find the soil is good, there is plenty of water and fertiliser and you will bear fruit as described in Galatians 5v22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”.
Unfortunately as the aches and pains get worse in old age we tend to become grumpy and irritable. As my wife keeps reminding me we need to constantly be careful not to bear fruit that has no nutrition and even gives the eater an upset stomach. All of us need to stay fresh and green so we still bear fruit in old age even if there is less fruit on it than when we were young and vigorous.
Dear fellow seniors, are we still proclaiming that God is faithful even when we are faithless? Are we testifying that even though sometimes it seems “life isn’t fair” God is and has always been our rock? Then we will be a role model for the next generation and as they say “finishing strong”.
God Bless Graeme Greenwood