I have mentioned before this time how thrilled I was to be standing in the midst of the olive trees just East of Jerusalem, and knowing that those roots were present when Jesus knelt there to pray. They were still providing sustenance for the fruit being enjoyed today. Some things just get better and better with time.

This is exactly the principle we find in Psalm 92.12-15: 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. There will never come a time in the Kingdom of God when his people will cease production.

The Psalmist then concludes with this word: They will 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.’ Don’t you just love seeing some faithful servant of God still at it well beyond the time they have become unproductive according to the world’s standard?

I have to tell you that I do not mind being retired—after all, I have reached the age of retirement, right? Retirement, for me, simply means that I receive new tires for another season of productive work. God will determine when I cease production, not some agency either inside or outside of the Church. As long as my roots are working, I will be producing crops that speak of the flourishing of the Kingdom of God among us. Snow on the roof can’t extinguish fire in the furnace!