An olive tree in Ithaca in Greece, reported to be over 1,500 years old.

Scripture

I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. Psalm 52:8

Observation
Olive trees endure. In places like the Garden of Gethsemane, olive trees still grow that once sheltered Jesus as he prayed. What is more remarkable is that these ancient sentinals still produce fruit. For example, in Croatia on the isle of Brijuni, an ancient olive grows now 1,600 years young, and yet it still produces about 30 kilos of olives each year. Aged and fruitful, olives are symbol of life-giving stability.

Like the Ents in the Lord of the Rings, so God’s forest needs trees that endure for a very long time. Their gnarly presence is a comfort in the midst of constant change. And because God is at work in lives like this, there is never a use-by-date, instead they continue to produce oil-rich olives.

Application
I want to be an enduring tree in the house of God. For years I have most admired elders in churches, who like stabilizers in a ship, keep the people of God steady and forward moving. The secret is in the source. Such enduring men must trust in the lovingkindness of the Lord. This is love that flows from covenant. It is given not because it is deserved, but because it is the nature of God to continue to give it. An ancient tree will watch much history pass by, and knows that one event in and of itself is not enough to stop the flow of God’s grace. The mercy that is new every morning will yet flow from the covenant heart of God to us. More fruit will come.

Prayer
Father, make me an endurer. Give me roots buried deep in lovingkindness so that I am known as one who is always there and evergreen. Amen.