Fresh and Flourishing
FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord…. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters.
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Recommended Reading: Psalm 92
Most of us at some point stop growing taller. We reach our maximum height. Not so with trees. A new study has found that trees never stop growing during their lifespans. In fact, as they age, their growth accelerates. The study, published in Nature journal, involved 38 researchers from 29 institutions who said it’s the older trees and their massive size that most helps the earth keep its air recycled and clean.1

Psalm 92:14 says, “The righteous shall … still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.”

When we’re rooted and grounded in Christ, we’ll keep growing in spiritual maturity, and God will use us in exciting new ways. This is encapsulated in 2 Peter 1:5-7 where the Lord tells us we should keep growing in our faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful” (verse 8).

Whatever your age—keep growing!

As a tree beside the water, has the Savior planted me; all my fruit shall be in season, I shall live eternally.
Alfred Ackley

N. L. Stephenson, et al. “Rate of Tree Carbon Accumulation Increases Continuously With Tree Size,” Nature, 507 (2014): 90-93.