This is a 225-year-old tree sitting in the center of Magdalen College, Oxford, England. Think about that for a moment.
When this tree first took root, America was still a young republic, barely two decades from our Declaration of Independence.
Generations have lived and rested beneath its branches. It has outlived wars, governments, inventions, and countless people who once walked past it. It had a beginning, and one day it will have an end. But its legacy will continue.
This summer I had the extraordinary privilege of standing under that tree while studying at Oxford University through the oldest U.S./Oxford exchange program in America. Twenty people from across the United States were selected. I was the only practicing attorney.
For most of the students around me, every grade carried enormous weight because it was helping shape the beginning of their legal careers. For me, it was different. My future did not depend upon an Oxford grade. I already have the privilege of practicing law. I could have attended class, completed the assignments, enjoyed seven weeks in one of the most beautiful places in the world, earned my Oxford certification, and gone home. No one would have thought less of me. But I couldn’t do that.
Because excellence is not determined by what is required. Excellence is determined by what you believe God deserves from the gifts He has entrusted to you.
This was not a vacation. It was seven weeks of intensive Oxford-level legal study in UK Law and English Legal History while simultaneously running my American law practice from overseas. Most mornings began between 4:30 and 6:00. Most nights ended somewhere between 10:00 and midnight, often later. Somewhere in between there were classes, reading, writing, clients, deadlines, and yes, moments to marvel at the breathtaking beauty, history, architecture, and people of the United Kingdom. It was exhausting, but it was wonderful. And every day reminded me of something Scripture teaches over and over again.
“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” (Colossians 3:23)
I worked for the A+, but that wasn’t my real goal. The goal was to honor the One who gave me the ability to pursue it and get everything I could to be used for His purpose!
Our culture teaches us to ask, “What can I get out of this?” God asks a different question: “What will you leave behind?” The Bible repeatedly commands us to leave an inheritance for those who come after us. (Proverbs 13:22).
Too often we reduce that to money, land, or possessions. But heaven tells a different story. In Heaven the streets are paved with gold. The foundations are adorned with precious stones. (Revelation 21). Gold, silver, and precious things are not God’s treasure. They’re His building materials.
The question isn’t how much wealth or stuff did you leave. It’s not even how much did you do and see. The question is what did you build with what was given to you.
- Did you leave wisdom?
- Did you leave courage?
- Did you leave truth?
- Did you leave faith that strengthened another generation?
- Did you leave something that will still bear fruit long after your name is forgotten?
Every gift God has placed in your hands is building material for His Kingdom. Your profession, talents, education, influence. Resources, and your time. None of them were given merely for your enjoyment, although God gives us GREAT JOY and Blessing while we work. These gifts are entrusted to us so that future generations might know God better because we were faithful with what He gave us. Its an individual journey, with an individual duty and an individual purpose.
That old tree reminds me that every life has a beginning and every earthly life has an end. The only question is whether we spent our years consuming…or cultivating.
Live in such a way that long after you are gone, someone is still resting in the shade of what you planted. Do all things with your might, unto the Lord. Build something that outlives you.
Live your Best Life,
Like this tree,
Live it Magnificently, but always Live it for Him.
