I am not a young man anymore. According to the stats, two-thirds of my life is gone. And as we are aware, life doesn’t always work according to statistics. But I do know that three of my four grandparents were in heaven well before their 75th birthdays. This is not maudlin speculation. The Scripture encourages us to “number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). Assuming I do have 21 years left (uninterrupted by the Rapture), and I keep relatively good health in body and mind, here are what they look like:
Sleep (at 8 hrs/night) 7 yrs
Dressing/washing, etc (1+ hr/day) 1 years
Food prep/consumption (3+ hrs/day) 3 yrs
Work (8 hrs/5 days; retire at 65) 3 yrs
Subtotal 14 yrs
I say “subtotal” because this list does not include many legitimate activities. Note that these “years” are composed of 24-hour days. So the work hours are 3 years x 24 x 365.25 = 26,298 hrs. That also means that spending on average an hour each day watching television over the 12 years = one full year of your life gone! A half-hour commute each morning and evening must be used for good somehow—prayer, meditation, etc.—because it soon adds up to a whole year of living. Now if I have ten or even fifteen productive summers left, I must consider how each one will count most for the Lord. Time is a non-renewable resource.
Personality types make a difference, no doubt, but as our lives progress past middle age and beyond, we feel the onset of hardening of the attitudes. Our energy supply, once thought to be limitless, now must be more carefully rationed. Risks once taken as an integral part of living in an uncertain world, begin to look reckless. We can, if we’re not careful, become a bit cynical, jaundiced with life. The concrete begins to harden.
When we were children, we assumed we could be anything we imagined.
Cowboys. Sports stars. Inventors. Or the President. Now reality has settled in. When young we labored under several delusions. We thought we were immortal, that we could do most anything. We thought we were “better than [our] fathers” (1 Ki. 19:4). But we have discovered—hopefully not too late to make a difference—that we have our limitations and liabilities. So there is no time to waste and we must strain every nerve to make any significant progress.
My oldest grandson B. J. and I were talking recently. He’s always designing, constructing things out of any handy household item. I suggested he would make a fine architect or engineer some day.
“No, Grandpa,” he replied in all seriousness. “I’m afraid not. I’ll be working at another job.”
“Oh, what’s that?” I inquired.
Deadpan, he explained, “I’m going to be a super hero.”
Not many super hero openings these days. But as amazing as it seems, the Lord can use ordinary people—even those of us who feel our best days are slipping by—to still accomplish super human tasks. As Paul writes:
God has chosen the…weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence (1 Cor. 1:27-29, nkjv).
These verses encourage us all to realize that the vigor of consecrated youth can be used by the Lord, but is not required in order for Him to accomplish His purposes through us. So these days as I approach the mid-50s, I’m asking the question: How can I “still bear fruit in old age” (Ps. 92:14)? How can I ensure that the refresh rate of my soul keeps me bright and hopeful and vigorous, Caleb-like, right to the finish line?
We all probably know some sweet and invigorating seniors. They still have a lilt in their voices, if not in their step. The sparkle in their eyes is a reflection of the hopes and dreams still in their hearts—hopes and dreams that have survived the betrayal of friends, the rigors of the battle, and the disappointments that have come to other hopes once held dear. What are their secrets?
MAKE NEW FRIENDS:
Nothing like old friends, we say. But they have one obvious liability—they keep leaving for The Other Side! Besides, the familiarity which we enjoy with old friends is the very thing that slows down spiritual circulation. Like it or not, the world is changing. We need a constant flow of new ideas, innovative ministries, creative ways of accomplishing the Commission. We need the input of younger minds and hearts or we will find ourselves irrelevant to life as it is. There is a place for looking through the archives, but if we don’t avail ourselves of young men’s visions, we’ll be left with nothing but old men dreaming.
KEEP LEARNING FROM THE WORD:
There is a serious danger that we come to a place in life where we feel we know enough. Enough to speak intelligently at the Bible reading or answer a young believer’s question. Enough to sound eloquent at the Lord’s Supper. Enough to lead a soul to Christ. Enough momentum to cruise into the kingdom in neutral.
However “they that wait upon the Lord” are the ones who have a constant appetite for the things of God.
Rejuvenation comes through a fresh diet. The Lord “satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps. 103:5). Manna rotted if it was kept over, and there’s something musty and unhealthy about a faith that adds nothing new. Clichéd worship or witness betrays a petrifying soul, and neither the Lord nor the seeking soul will find it palatable. It may be that the mind isn’t what it once was, but the spirit remains as effective a receptor of truth as it ever was. We need the attitude of hungry “babes” to have the Father’s revelation come to us in continual freshness (Lk. 10:21).
One way to keep spiritually spry is to use a Bible unmarked by old notes. Instead of rethinking and discovering fresh treasures in a passage, I know my eyes lazily drift to notations long ago recorded. Ah, that’s it; no need to think again! Another help is to ask for and listen to young believers’ discoveries in the Book. The bare-faced fact is this: I learn nothing new when I do all the talking.
TRAVEL SOME:
I don’t mean a Caribbean cruise or a look at the Sistine Chapel. If circumstances allow, I have seen great benefit come to seniors who leave their cocoon-like world to visit isolated saints or small assemblies. It isn’t only the eyes of the body that lose their acuity with advancing years. Our souls also may lose their ability to see beyond me and mine. Worse, tunnel vision can make us think that only our way and view is right.
I’m not suggesting that fundamental truths should be discarded or compromised to adapt to world trends. Of course not. But hopefully we would see how foolish it is, after a visit to the Amazon, to impose a Royal Ascot dress code on new believers as an evidence of spirituality, or expect such of desperately poor believers in India or from our inner cities. And we would see through the “kjv was good enough for Paul…” mentality if we spent time with translators who are battling through a Bible version heretofore unwritten.
Better than that, we would find new avenues to help and encourage others. We could bring home thrilling stories of the Lord’s work in other places. And perhaps we would allow others in our absence to try their wings and begin to prepare for the day—barring the Rapture—when we will not be there.
TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT:
Not a new hair-do. I mean the sort of things Paul might suggest:
i) Forgive someone: Not because they deserve it, but “as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). There is nothing like it to restore the smile, lift the burden, or enlarge the soul. None of this “I’ll go part way and see if they respond in kind.” That isn’t how God did it, and neither should we.
ii) Be an encourager: Take a young person out for lunch. Just the two of you. No criticism this time, just encouragement. Ask them how you can pray for them. Get them a good book. It may well be a turning point.
iii) Rejoice and be thankful: Wrinkles go very nicely with a smile. Try to limit the aches-and-pains talk. Drop the negative stuff. Call a friend and tell them you appreciate them. Life is gloomy enough, so spread sunshine. Few people are accused of being too happy.
Fruitfulness in old age is neither automatic nor guaranteed. Two influences will keep us from it—suckers and deadwood. Suckers may be the healthiest looking part of the plant, but they never bear fruit. The sucker attitude takes but never gives; anything that calls for “me first” must submit to the Husbandman’s pruning knife.
As for deadwood, it has the form of a life once fruitful, but no longer bears fruit. It also must be pruned if we are going to have more than mere form.
“We…desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9-10). Let’s keep going, and growing, all the way Home.