Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums
At a recent family reunion, my sister and I reminisced about our childhood family gatherings. Gayle asked, "Do you remember how old we thought our great aunts and uncles were?" I chuckled and nodded, "They seemed elderly, over the hill." She smiled and responded, "Well, all the little kids here see us as really old - we're the same age as our great aunts and uncles were way back then. . . ."
Chuck and I will be sixty-nine in January. That's one year away from seventy! Seventy seemed ancient when I was a teenager! Yet, as Chuck and I muse about what retirement looks like, we know our theology teaches us that "redeployment" might be a better word to describe this next season of life.
For this week's blog, I'm sharing a devotional in which Chuck shares some of his thoughts on retirement, fruit bearing and what that might look like for us as we find ourselves on top of life's hill and get ready to tumble down the other side.
Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums
by Dr. Chuck F. Betters
As I near that magical age of retirement, I know I have worked hard all of my adult life to attain this new chapter but that doesn’t mean I am going to sit around, eat grapes and have angels fan me. I cannot imagine that I would ever retire from my first love – the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. From that there is no such thing as retirement.
But I do have to constantly pray that God will show me when and how the next chapter of my life will unfold. Psalm 92 says:
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. [12] The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. [13]They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. [14] They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, [15] to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Psalm 92:11-15 ESV)
Did you catch that?
They still bear fruit in old age (v.14a).
God expects the aging saints to be fruit bearers. I wonder, what kind of fruit?
Years ago, I got the bright idea to try my hand at raising peaches. I planted three trees, watered and fertilized them expecting to have peaches coming out of my ears. That didn’t happen.
In fact, the peaches grew to pea size and then fell off the tree. Concluding that I was doing something wrong (brilliant, eh?) I contacted an elderly man in my church, the owner of Milburn Orhards, a very successful orchard that was known for its apples, peaches and other fruit. When John arrived at our home he had in his hand a pair of sharp shears and took it to the trees. He snipped here and cut there brutally shaving that tree down to almost nothing. I actually asked him if he knew what he was doing as he was mumbling something about why don’t novices like me just don’t visit his orchard and buy his peaches.
John told me something I will never forget. He said that the trees should have never been allowed to bear any fruit in the first two years. He continued that they needed to be pruned to drive energy to the vine and the root system. He chastised me lovingly and said that I will be very happy with big, thick juicy peaches next year but for now I had to be patient and wait for God to do His thing on the trees.
He grabbed a bag of special fertilizer and threw it about the roots being careful to pour the fertilizer only on the edges where the branches once stood. It took him all of ten minutes to ready those trees for the next season. And, ready they were with the biggest, juiciest and most delicious peaches one will ever eat.
Where are those trees now you ask? They are all dead. Why? Because I did not listen to the peach doctor. I expected that they would continue to produce abundantly without pruning and fertilizing. John is with the Lord now but his orchards continue to draw people from four states because he passed down a legacy of knowledge to his kids and their kids. The future of these orchards is bright, thanks to an old man who continued to practice his art in his old age. He not only invested in his family business, but invested in a young pastor who was a wannabe farmer. That next summer I enjoyed his investment in me when I bit into the juiciest sweetest peach I had ever eaten. Sadly, I didn't follow his pruning instructions and within a few years, my peach trees died.
Not so the old man of Psalm 92. The old man of Psalm 92 is a man of great vision. He asks the Lord for details on the next chapter in his life. He passes on to each following generation sound instructions for remaining ever growing ever green. For the believer there is no such thing as retirement from the spreading of the Gospel. Instead, there is redeployment. To be full of sap and green requires staying rooted in the house of the Lord, cultivating community, not only with our own age group but intentionally connecting with the younger generations. Those young people coming behind us need ot hear that "the Lord is upright, that he is our rock, and that there is no unrighteousness in Him." Who better to make this declaration than those who have experienced hard places, the pruning of suffering, the presence of the Lord when the lights in life go out? We are credible witnesses to God's faithfulness. Our redeployment will always entail telling the next generation of His faithfulness because we ahve experienced it.
They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. [14] They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, [15] to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. (Psalm 92:13b-15)
Daddy
Sharon's dad, better known as Daddy to his seven children, embraced the truth of Psalm 92 and never stopped looking for ways of declaring that the Lord is sovereign, in control, and can be trusted. Throughout our region are numerous church buildings, Christian schools and numerous other edifices built by him through his company, Watco. Thousands of people worship every week in many of those buildings, lives are impacted by the Gospel preached in the "house of the Lord." He used his financial security to send numerous people onto the mission field and give wings to the dreams of young people. He poured resources and time into his many children and grandchildren, making memories that pull many back to the roots of their faith and family. But perhaps his sweetest fruit grew in the last years of his life, when he was unable to continue to lead his company as he had. His children and large family of over 100 grandchildren noticed his demanor and spirit seemed more mellow and gentler, especially after the death of his beloved wife, Eleanor. Those who knew Ralph when he was younger probably would not use the word "sweet" to describe him, but that was one of the words his son, Jim, used to describe the times he spent with his father shortly before his death. Grandchildren of all ages enjoyed hearing his stories and life lessons woven into the details. After his death at 89 years of age, Jim told his siblings that their father, a man of few words who struggled to describe the deep things in his heart, had expressed a deep desire of his heart that explained the change in their father's spirit. He said to Jim, "I know that I have a reputation for being harsh, but I'm trying to change. I hope people will give me chance and extend grace." Ralph got his wish as his love for Jesus showed up in the way he treated others.
The fruit of my father-in-law's life grew sweeter in his last season of life. Eighty nine years of living yet he never wavered in his assertion that God is sovereign and can be trusted, no matter how disappointing the circumstances. When I needed hope for resolving a hopeless situation, I knew Ralph would see some way out, because He saw the Lord's hand even in the messes. Lifelong friends and young people alike continue to speak highly of Ralph's heart and faith. He is still bearing fruit.
How sweet will the fruit of my life be in old age? Sometimes I get mixed up and thing fruit bearing is about doing. But it's not. It's about being, it's about falling more in love with Jesus. When that happens, the harshness or other thorns in my life have no choice but to start falling away. In this season of life, the greatest gift, the sweetest fruit I can give to my family is to invest in Jesus, and know that the dsciplines of suffering and grace will grow sweeter fruit than I ever thought possible in this last season of life.
Is your fruit bearing yielding a deeper love for Jesus that attracts others to Jesus? Are you practicing the presence of the Lord in worship and prayer in a way that continually matures and creates delight in His love? Do you receive the disciplines of the Lord, His pruning, with an open heart that refuses to grumble but graciously says yes to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, recognizing that “no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”
Friends, one thing I know, at some point the old man of Psalm 92 embraced the “old season of life,” recognizing that his life had prepared him to continue to bear fruit – he would not stop growing or seeing life with eternity in view. That’s my hope for myself. How about you?
In His grip,
Dr. Chuck F. Betters