Thursday, March 26, 2009
Bamboo Believers
(Psalm 92)
Everything has a productive lifespan. People, for example, are said to be at their most productive during their 40’s and 50’s. A good laying hen remains productive for only a couple years at best. Even apple trees diminish in their productivity as they age. Simply put, everything eventually wears out.
For the more mature folks among us, that may sound discouraging. Well, take heart! Psalm 92:14 states that our older folks shall “bear fruit in old age.” Not only that, but you can be “fresh and flourishing” in your service for the Lord. In fact, the sunset years can be the most fruitful for the dedicated Christian.
The key to such old-age fruitfulness is found in verse 13—“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord.” Your position determines your usefulness. Perhaps you find yourself up in years, maybe retired, and you don’t feel as useful as did in the past. The answer could be your getting busy for the Lord. Your extra time and energy could be invested for eternity in service through the church, the house of the Lord.
There is a variety of bamboo that only bears fruit once in its lifespan—in its 48th year, just before it dies. The fruit phase insures the next generation of bamboo. Without that phase, that variety would entirely die out. Maybe you should consider the closing years of your earthly pilgrimage as your “fruit phase.” It’s fair to say that the next generation depends on you.
