Juan Ponce de Leon was born in 1474 to a noble Spanish family and served as a page in the court of Ferdinand V and Isabella I. He sailed with Columbus on his second voyage to the New World (he was helping to drive the Moors out of Spain during the first voyage) and settled on Hispaniola, now the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In 1508, he explored Puerto Rico where he discovered gold. Conquering the island, he became its governor, and rose to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful Spaniards in the Americas.
But fleeting wealth and uncertain power were not enough for the indefatigable explorer. In 1512, King Ferdinand gave him permission to search for the imaginary island of Bimini. This was not the island by the same name in the Bahamas, but supposedly the site of the Fountain of Youth. What good was it to have unlimited gold if you had limited time? What benefit was temporal power if you must succumb at last to the King of Terrors? As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said of the present century, “Never before have we had so little time in which to do so much.”
Remember that the Spaniards were laboring under the delusion that America was the Far East. Medieval folklore proposed that this fountain was the Water of Life, flowing from the Garden of Eden, of all things! This spring, they said, would restore youthfulness to the aged who drank or bathed in its waters. In the process of searching, like millions of senior citizens since, he discovered Florida.
Ponce de Leon died in 1521. Evidently his search was in vain. But I know some who have discovered it. It is a well kept secret, but living among us are a few who have found this fabled fountain. Each morning they have a drink of its life sustaining waters. Often you can discover these secret-sharers by little tell tale signs: twinkling eyes, a ready smile, hearty laughter, a firm handshake. But of course there is more.
I would not mislead you into thinking that these ageless characters had found a remedy to keep their bodies from succumbing to advancing years. Such is not the case. But they would remind you that they are not their bodies, although presently quite attached to them. In fact, barring the Rapture in the next few years, they will continue to exist without their bodies! Exist, did I say? They will live as they have never lived before, in the Ageless Country where God dwells.
Paul spoke of this Fountain of Youth in 2 Corinthians 4:15-16, “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
Here is the secret. The real person within never needs to grow old. There, within this house of clay, is the real you into which God has breathed the very life of the Everlastings. There is no need for age spots on the soul, for arthritic attitudes, or weakening convictions. Let me introduce a few of these Ageless Ones.
Brother Tom (a centenarian who just headed Home last week) was in the oil business–he poured oil on the waters in the retirement home where he lived. Let others be cranky or unthankful; his 24-hour pain wouldn’t keep him from spreading the fragrant and calming oil of Heaven’s gladness on others.
Aunt Ethel “retired” here in her eighties (from working at a children’s home in Alaska) to proofread, do the dishes, and keep us all moving. And no “old lady” shoes for her! When she moved to Rest Haven in her mid-nineties, she led in the Ladies’ Bible Studies.
Brother Jay encourages younger men (from their teens to their seventies) to memorize Bible passages, and, to add incentive, quotes the “longest sentence in the New Testament” (Eph. 1:3-14) or some other such daunting section to show them how. He may walk slowly now, sometimes with the aid of a cane, but it’s not easy for the young men following to keep up.
Look around you carefully. You will find others like them. When some are saying, “Of course I’m slowing down. I’m sixty-five, you know”, hear these say, “Why shouldn’t I learn a new language? I haven’t reached eighty yet!” These Ageless Ones run the race (sometimes from a wheelchair) without breaking stride. They walk towards Home with the certain step of faith. They mount up on the eagle wings of prayer and soar above with joyful hearts. Let’s follow them!