Bearing Fruit In Old Age

Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age. Psalm 92:13-14a

For as long as I can remember we’ve had a spineless yucca tree at our school. I have no idea who brought it and left it there, but it’s been a blessing of life and greenery for two decades.

About three years ago, we suddenly started finding these from time to time:

Babies! You have to cut them from the very thick root but then you can transplant them. We’ve had five or six offshoots over the last few years. Here’s a recent picture of one of the first that we transplanted:

As you can tell we’re rather proud of them. One student names them. There’s Jimmy, Timmy, Kimmy, and… sorry, I don’t remember the rest, but you get the idea. We even thought about making the spineless yucca our school mascot— HA! Somehow that seemed unwise.

Then about a year ago the mama plant started looking unhealthy. We had to trim off some branches at the top because they had completely dried out and were drooping badly. I looked it up, and the average lifespan for a spineless yucca is apparently around 20 years. That’s about how old our school is. I haven’t researched further. Perhaps it is typical for this particular plant to reproduce near the end of its life.

It reminds me of Sarah giving birth to Isaac when she was around 90 years old. I had a baby when I was 42 and some people thought I was the grandma. I wonder if Sarah had any mixed feelings about it.

But we DO want to be fruitful as we grow older. We need for our lives to mean something, even after the offshoots have grown and moved out. As Christians we would like to produce fruit for the kingdom.

That’s why I love Psalm 92:12-15.

The righteous shall flourish like a 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 bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Sometimes the elderly are blessed with continued physical health and energy, such as Moses (Deuteronomy 34:7) and Caleb (Joshua 14:11). But even someone who is bedridden can “declare that the LORD is upright,” and can offer “prayers night and day,” like Anna did at 84 years of age (Luke 2:37).

In the parable of the laborers (Matthew 20:1-16), the Master chose to give the same reward to those who joined the work in the final hour as he gave to those who had worked all day. That may seem like a better deal for those who came late, but when you understand the work that God is doing in His kingdom, you see that coming in at the tail end of it would be a shame! You would be missing out on the most meaningful, fulfilling work there is. So if you’re young, don’t put off serving God until you’re old. Wherever you are in your life, put your hands to the work and set your roots in God’s garden.

Our adult spineless yucca finally dried out completely and had to be cut down. She continued to serve an important purpose until the very end, nourishing her last baby, seen in this picture. The offshoot is still thriving in the same pot.

We too can find meaning and purpose in old age. But let’s don’t wait until the final hour to start working in the vineyard of the Lord. The more time we’ve spent cultivating our relationship with God, the better prepared we will be to flourish in old age, offering “the sacrifice of praise to God,” (Hebrews 13:15), even with our last breath, and right on into eternity.

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Psalm 104:33

Dear God, we praise You and thank You for giving us meaningful work to do in this life; for allowing us to serve a purpose in Your kingdom. Satan would teach us to fear and hate the idea of growing old, so please remind us that long life is a blessing to be used wisely in Your service and for Your glory. You alone know the number of our days. In this life and in eternity, may we ever flourish in Your courts. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins

P.S. One of these offshoots was given to my jail ministry mentor, Mrs. Sue, who bore much fruit in her old age and is now flourishing in the heavenly courts of our God!