Still Standing

He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who cares for his master will be honored.~Proverbs 27:18

We see a lot of advertising slogans today. Companies are always looking for newer, snazzier ways to position their products and services. But one positive feature that can never be dreamed up in a brainstorming session is a statement such as "Serving You for More than 50 Years" or "Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence." Statements like these can't be bought from an ad agency. They can only be earned over time. The same thing holds true in your life as a Christian. Even though all of God's promises were yours from the beginning of your walk with Christ, the awesome experience of bearing fruit over a lifetime can only be seen through the lens of many years. And when those years have been fully invested in the Lord rather than routinely squandered on foolish alternatives, the return is sure to be bountiful beyond measure. Today's verse from Proverbs is a good reminder of this truth. Solomon was saying that our years of faithfulness will be rewarded. An orchard that is faithfully tended for many years will enjoy a much more productive yield than a new one. The more it matures, the more fruitful it becomes.

If you're still fairly young, I hope you realize that your choices now do matter. If you're not quite so young anymore, don't rest on the past. Keep growing a life whose fruit bears the seeds of eternity and reflects the greatness of the Gardener. Every year in His orchard is another opportunity to be used by Him in achieving His purposes in this generation. Perhaps the "slogan" you can hope to hear on that day when you stand accountable to Him in eternity is "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master" (see Matthew 25:21). Pray Ask that you will run the race that He has set before you and that you will run well, side by side, all the way to the finish line. Pray that you will finish strong!

~Focus on the Family, Dr. James Dobson