If you visit a forest ranger’s station or natural history museum, you might see a display showing the cross section of a very old tree with the rings marked to show different events in the life of that tree. If it’s a centuries old oak or redwood tree they may point out the ring that shows when George Washington was born or the civil war took place, or a black mark where the tree survived a forest fire. Other scars tell other stories.
These displays can reveal the full scope of the tree’s life only after the tree is fallen. In much the same way, the full value of many of the things we as Christians invest time in may not be known in this life. For example, when we invest hours teaching a children’s Sunday school, we’re putting time into a project that may not be fully appreciated in our lifetime.
But, when the tree of your life is fallen, you’ll be glad you redeemed the time.
Rick Grubbs is best known as the host of “Redeeming the Time,” a one-minute radio program featured on hundreds of radio outlets around the world. He has spoken thousands of times on Biblical time management in all 50 states and 26 other countries. He is the author of the book “Morning Momentum: God’s plan for launching an unstoppable day”. He and his wife Carrie live in Salisbury NC with several of their 12 children.
