A year ago we took a trip to
Colorado. For much of the way from Denver to Grand Junction, Interstate 70
parallels the Colorado River. A few miles northeast of Grand Junction, the
terrain on the north side of the highway is essentially desert. On the other
side, in the river valley where the land is irrigated, the grass is green and
crops and trees flourish. It was a vivid illustration of what the writer of
Psalm 1 must have had in mind when he wrote of the blessed man:"He shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in
its season; its leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away"
(Psa. 1:3,4). This simile of the righteous person being like a fruitful tree is
found several times in the Old Testament (Psa. 92:14; Isa. 61:3; Jer. 17:8),
perhaps because Palestine, like Colorado, is rather arid and flourishing green
trees stand out in the landscape.

The prophetess Anna is a wonderful
illustration of Psalm 92:12-15:"The  righteous shall flourish like the
palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the
house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still
bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat [or full of sap, JND] and
flourishing, to show that the LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in Him."  Anna lived in the temple environs and served God
with fastings and prayers night and day. She was "planted in the house of the
LORD" and she "bore fruit in old age."

Anna had been a widow for many,
many years. By the time she is introduced to us in Luke 2:36, any children she
might have had during her brief marriage had long since grown up and she used
her freedom from family responsibilities to serve God. The "empty
nest" should not be a syndrome but an opportunity to use free time in
Christian service.

Older women often have difficulty
sleeping. What an opportunity to serve the Lord in those night hours by praying
or studying the Bible or writing letters of encouragement to friends,
acquaintances, neighbors, or relatives who are suffering in some way.

After Anna saw the Lord Jesus,
"she gave thanks … unto the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who
looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38). Do we who have known and
trusted Christ speak of Him to one another? Too often our conversation is about
other things. I have read that in the Talmud (a book of commentary on the
Pentateuch written by Jewish rabbis) there is the exhortation, "Let not
two Israelites meet and separate without a word about the Law." Do not
Christians who know the Lord Jesus who loved them, gave Himself for them, and
is presently interceding for them, have even more reason to speak of Him than
Israelites have to speak of the Law?

People are living longer and
longer. Women on average, live longer than men. All Christians should stand out
in the dry desert of this world as flourishing green trees. Older Christians
can be even more fruitful in old age than in their younger years since they
have more time to devote to knowing and serving Christ, and have had more years
to become firmly established by the living waters and in the courts of the
Lord.

                             * * *

In producing blossom and fruit, a
branch of a plant sacrifices itself, yields up its own individual
vegetative life for the sake of another life that is to spring from it. And is
it not so in the kingdom of grace? Christian fruit comes from a transformation
of the branch in the True Vine. Instead of growing for its own ends, it
produces the blossoms of holiness and the fruits of righteousness, for the
glory of God and the good of men. The life of selfishness, self-righteousness,
and self-seeking is cut short, and changed into the life of self-denial (Matt.
16:24).

We can bring forth no fruit that
is pleasing to God until we yield ourselves a living sacrifice to Him (Rom.
12:1). In this self-sacrifice all the beauty of the Christian life manifests
itself. The life that lives for another in so doing bursts into flower and
shows its brightest hues and yields its sweetest fragrance. All is given to
Christ, and all is received back a hundredfold.

(From "Fruit" in Help
and Food, Vol. 6.)

EDITOR’S NOTE

   Masculine pronouns have been
used almost exclusively in reference to spiritual gifts in this issue, because
the "he/she" structure is cumbersome. Please keep in mind that the
Holy Spirit has gifted every female as well as every male believer in Christ.