Cincinnati claims some of the most beautiful trees one can see. Each spring, three trees in particular outshine the rest. For three to four weeks, bright purple, pink, and white trees exude from among the rest of the newly budded vegetation. The colors are vibrant and contrast nicely against the surrounding scenery.

While at Ault Park near Mt. Lookout this weekend, my wife and I were able to take some pictures of these beautiful trees. Many of them have already begun to shake off their spring flowers and turn to other darker colors for the summer. Over the last weeks, every corner I turned I noticed these beautiful trees, but now many of them are fading into the landscape.

Yesterday morning I had brunch with several other older men from the church. As far as I know, I was the only one at the table under the age of 80. What I admired most about these men was there faithfulness. Most, having come to a knowledge of Christ at a much younger age, remain bright testimonies of perseverance decades later. How many friends of theirs started remarkably, but finished not nearly as well? How many men at their sides veered off to other paths?

I do not want to be as their acquaintances, nor as those trees that shine only for a time and that fade into the horizon. I do not want to begin well and finish poorly. As those men gathered around me at the table, I desire to demonstrate the beauty of a transforming, Christ-centered life all of my days.