The Bristlecone Pine

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Peter 3:8-10 ESV).

Trees may be some of the oldest living things on the earth. Being ancient it would be interesting if they could communicate with us some of the history that has passed within their view. Let me give you just a little science to tickle your curiosity for a bit. They began to populate the earth about 385 million years ago, toward the end of the Devonian period. Considered living historical records, they have withstood generations of development and change. It may be of interest to you to know that one of the oldest individual trees in the world has been named Methuselah; it is a 4,845-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) located in the White Mountains of California. In 2013 researchers at the Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research Group found another bristlecone pine also located in the White Mountains. They have measured this tree as being 5,062 years old. The mammoths still roamed the earth then. The Sumerians were just learning the form of writing we know as cuneiform. The first dynasty of Egypt was just being formed, predating the pyramids. We don’t know the exact date of the call of Abraham, but it certainly was after these trees first burst from the earth as seedlings. The United Kingdom of Israel wouldn’t take place until somewhere around 1050 BC. It’s easy to get the picture. We seem to think that a hundred years is a long time; and, it is for a human being. But in the long look of the created order, it’s not much more than a blink of the eye. Peter understood this and declared the principle in our reading today: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. This is the great gift of eternal life. When we begin to think about all the things we’ve seen or experienced in this life it really doesn’t quantitatively compare to eternity. The doctors diagnosed my hemochromatosis about twenty six years ago. It has been a lengthy and sometimes unpleasant journey managing that incurable disease. However, even if I live to the century mark, having dealt with it for fifty years, that’s 1/100th of the time these trees have been alive! And, there is no way to quantify that number in comparison to eternity! Do you see it? What God has prepared for me is so much more than this brief moment I call “life.” That gives me great hope and motivation to persevere. I hope it will do the same for you.