A Lesson From The Date Palm

Serving – June 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine

A Lesson From The Date Palm

The righteous shall shoot forth like a palm tree. —Psalm 92:12 JND

Several interesting facts about the date palm give encouragement and comfort in applying this verse to our lives as Christians.

1. It never grows wild, but must be planted and carefully tended when young. Like ugly weeds, the natural man will grow wild and flourish without being planted or tended. But only God can produce fruitful trees by redeeming sinners to Himself and then fashioning them into objects of beauty and fruitfulness.

2. It grows from within. Its bark is only the support and protection of its inner life from which comes its fruitfulness. The real life of a Christian is renewed day by day as he walks with the Lord. It is this inward man that produces fruit for God.

3. It has well over 200 uses, including food and floor mats. What a variety of uses God has for His people! Sometimes we foolishly object to some uses God has for us, such as a floor mat, but true fruitfulness results from submitting to Him in all things.

4. Its foliage is always green, because its deep roots get hidden moisture. It thrives even in dry and sandy soil. In Isaiah 50, God promised continual guidance and satisfaction in drought times. Those who lay hold upon these promises – who we may call “palm tree Christians” – do not require a favorable environment to survive. In fact, by God’s grace they often bear the choicest fruit in hostile circumstances.

5. It bears its best fruit in old age. Those Christians who mature and mellow with age become a delight to God, and also serve as a beautiful example to younger saints. They become a source of wonder even to unbelievers. While Satan ruthlessly discards his faithful servants when they become old and feeble, God chooses to give His own a special glow in the evening of their lives here – a glow that reflects His own glory.

By Grant Steidl