Chinese Tallows.

We may have a hundred Chinese Tallow trees. This invasive species grows fast, and has bright green leaves twisting like pinwheels in the wind. In autumn, they create some of the most flashy fall colors in the South. Plant stores used to sell them as fast-growing shade trees. But fifty years later, birds have spread their berries all over the Gulf Coast, popping up in every spot lawnmowers neglect. In a year, a seed can become a six-foot bush. In several years, it is a mature tree dropping 100,000 seeds a year. If ten years pass, that first tree may have spawned twenty more. But around year twenty (in our soil) that first tree will die, rotting where it stands and eventually falling down. As beautiful as a Chinese Tallow may be, it is short-lived: it grows fast, shows off a bit, then dies. A Southern Live Oak, on the other hand (we have a lot of those too), grows slowly, with hard, healthy wood. And a massive Live Oak can live for a THOUSAND YEARS.

Do you want to have the faith of a Chinese Tallow or a Southern Live Oak?

“The righteous thrive like palm trees near the sea, they grow like cedar trees in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in His courtyard. They will bear fruit in old age, remaining healthy and green. They will declare ‘the Lord is just. He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.’” Psalm 92:12-15.

This is my prayer for you: that you thrive in your faith, grow steadily, and bear fruit in your old age, just as your grandparents continue to do. Make a conscious choice to follow your grandparents’ example. Start walking with Jesus now. READ HIS WORD EVERY DAY. And stay in the word for the duration—whether you live five more years or fifty more years. Walk with Jesus, learning His word and applying it to your life EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

ΑΩ