The story is told of a little girl who went to visit her great-grandmother. The elderly lady had hair that was white. Her face was covered with wrinkles. As the little girl looked at her, she asked, "Grandma, are you an old lady?" With a twinkle in her eyes, her great-grandmother said, "No, honey, not exactly. But I must say I've been young for a mighty long time."
Old age is a strange thing. Very few of us actually think of ourselves as being old. As one 85-year-old man (Bernard Baruch) put it, "To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am." And that's about right. When I was a teenager, anyone who was 40 years old seemed ancient. But when I reached the age of 40, I didn't feel like an old man. But those people in their mid-50's sure were old. Now as I have reached the age of 60 myself, those folks are looking younger and younger all the time!
But, whether we want to or not, whether it's something we look forward to or something we dread, every single one of us is getting older. There's no getting around that fact. Every time the sun rises and every time the sun sets -- even every chime on the grandfather clock -- serves to constantly remind us that we're all growing older. We're older today than we were yesterday and tomorrow, if the Lord sees fit to bless us, we will be older still.
According to statistics, we live in a society that's rapidly growing older and older. In this country, in 1900, the average life-span was only 47 years. Right now, the life-span of an average American is 78.8 years of age. And it is expected that within a few decades, as the "baby boomers" get older, the life expectancy for males will be 86 years and for females will be 92.
David said in Psalm 90:10, "The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."
You would think that most people would be excited about the prospect of living longer, but sadly, that's not the case. A lot of people are afraid of getting old. Even David expressed this fear when he prayed to God, "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails....Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare your strength to this generation, your power to everyone who is to come." (Psalm 71:9,18).
I think Jonathan Swift was right when he said, "Every man desires to live long, but no man wants to be old." There are a couple of reasons for that.
One perspective on age was offered by an elderly man who said, "Now it takes me longer to rest than it does to get tired. Often I have to sight against something to see if I'm moving....All my younger years I bemoaned the fact I was so short. Now every morning when I waken and everything hurts, I can be grateful. If I was tall, there would be so much more to hurt."
But then as we heard it said so often, "Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative!" So, what about it? Is growing old a good thing or a bad thing? Is it something to dread or something to look forward to? Well, that all depends.
At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon begins to draw some conclusions from his observations about what's really important in this life. He says, "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, 'I have no pleasure in them'." (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Solomon says, "Follow God while you are young." And that's important. It's important that those of you who are young to make a conscious decision to commit yourselves to God, to surrender yourselves to his will, to faithfully obey God's instructions beginning right now while you're still young.
But there's a part of us when we're young that wants to say, "What's the rush? Why not wait until you've sown a few wild oats? Why not wait thirty or forty years until you've had a lot of fun doing things your own way and then turn to God? That way you get the best of both worlds."
Solomon doesn't waste time answering that kind of reasoning. He says to remember God "before the difficult days come". When we're young, it's easy to think we'll be young forever. Our bodies play tricks on us, trying to convince us that we'll always feel just as good as we do when we're young. But, of all the pains that we have to deal with as we get older, the ones that hurt the most are the regrets of things we've done. I've never known anyone who is old who said, "I should have disobeyed God more when I was young. I missed out on a lot!" I've known many older people, though, who have said, "If I had listened to God when I was young, it would have saved me a lot of heartache."
"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." (Proverbs 16:31)
But then as we heard it said so often, "Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative!" So, what about it? Is growing old a good thing or a bad thing? Is it something to dread or something to look forward to? Well, that all depends.
At the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon begins to draw some conclusions from his observations about what's really important in this life. He says, "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, 'I have no pleasure in them'." (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Solomon says, "Follow God while you are young." And that's important. It's important that those of you who are young to make a conscious decision to commit yourselves to God, to surrender yourselves to his will, to faithfully obey God's instructions beginning right now while you're still young.
But there's a part of us when we're young that wants to say, "What's the rush? Why not wait until you've sown a few wild oats? Why not wait thirty or forty years until you've had a lot of fun doing things your own way and then turn to God? That way you get the best of both worlds."
Solomon doesn't waste time answering that kind of reasoning. He says to remember God "before the difficult days come". When we're young, it's easy to think we'll be young forever. Our bodies play tricks on us, trying to convince us that we'll always feel just as good as we do when we're young. But, of all the pains that we have to deal with as we get older, the ones that hurt the most are the regrets of things we've done. I've never known anyone who is old who said, "I should have disobeyed God more when I was young. I missed out on a lot!" I've known many older people, though, who have said, "If I had listened to God when I was young, it would have saved me a lot of heartache."
"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." (Proverbs 16:31)
George Burns once said, "Tennis is a game for young people. Until age 25, you can play singles. From there until age 35, you should play doubles. I won't tell you my age, but when I played, there were 28 people on the court -- just on my side of the net."
I've talked some about the fears we have related to getting older. But, I want to close out this series by looking at the positive aspect of aging. In Proverbs 20:29, Solomon wrote, "The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head." The Bible has for us several examples of elderly people who refused to believe their usefulness was over just because they weren't young anymore, who served God well despite their advancing years.
One of the greatest examples is found in the book of Joshua. Caleb was 85 years old. He had served the Lord faithfully for his entire lifetime. When he was 40, he, along with eleven other soldiers, sneaked into the land of Canaan to spy out the land that God had promised them. What they saw was frightening and ten of the soldiers concluded there was no chance of victory. Joshua and Caleb were the two faithful spies who stood firm in their conviction that God could give them Canaan despite the giants in the land.
Then for the next 40 years, that unbelieving nation wandered in the wilderness until Caleb and Joshua were the only adults left. Joshua led the Israelites in conquering the land of Canaan and Caleb had fought valiantly in securing the land. But by the time we get to the 14th chapter of the book of Joshua, Caleb is an old man -- 85 years old. You would think he was ready to sit out on that porch swing, but listen to him:
"And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said." (Joshua 14:10-12).
At the age of 85, Caleb was still looking for ways to serve God; he asked for a mountain full of giants to conquer. It was the most difficult spot in the whole land to be conquered. He deliberately chose the hardest task. Now if anyone in that nation had earned the right to retire and live the rest of his days in comfort, it was Caleb. But, he wasn't ready for the shelf; he wanted a mountain.
What was his secret? There are several things that I think stand out. He was a man who obviously had a positive attitude and faith in God. It's easy to become negative as we get older, looking back on "the good old days". But Caleb refused to be negative. He had a positive faith in God. God said, "Even to your old age, I am he, and even to gray hairs I will carry you." (Isaiah 46:4). Caleb truly believed that, that God is in control at every stage of our lives.
Here was a man who had a divine purpose. He was in his eighties, but he believed that God had something important for him to do. And he believed that with God's help he could do it. He was a man who looked for ways to serve God despite his advancing age. There are tasks that an older Christian can do that a younger Christian just simply isn't equipped to do.
But, above all else, Caleb was obedient to the Lord. It's difficult for a person to obey God in his old age if he doesn't establish a pattern of obedience in his earlier years. But it can be done. The important thing is to continue to give yourself to the Lord no matter what your age.
I've talked some about the fears we have related to getting older. But, I want to close out this series by looking at the positive aspect of aging. In Proverbs 20:29, Solomon wrote, "The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head." The Bible has for us several examples of elderly people who refused to believe their usefulness was over just because they weren't young anymore, who served God well despite their advancing years.
One of the greatest examples is found in the book of Joshua. Caleb was 85 years old. He had served the Lord faithfully for his entire lifetime. When he was 40, he, along with eleven other soldiers, sneaked into the land of Canaan to spy out the land that God had promised them. What they saw was frightening and ten of the soldiers concluded there was no chance of victory. Joshua and Caleb were the two faithful spies who stood firm in their conviction that God could give them Canaan despite the giants in the land.
Then for the next 40 years, that unbelieving nation wandered in the wilderness until Caleb and Joshua were the only adults left. Joshua led the Israelites in conquering the land of Canaan and Caleb had fought valiantly in securing the land. But by the time we get to the 14th chapter of the book of Joshua, Caleb is an old man -- 85 years old. You would think he was ready to sit out on that porch swing, but listen to him:
"And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said." (Joshua 14:10-12).
At the age of 85, Caleb was still looking for ways to serve God; he asked for a mountain full of giants to conquer. It was the most difficult spot in the whole land to be conquered. He deliberately chose the hardest task. Now if anyone in that nation had earned the right to retire and live the rest of his days in comfort, it was Caleb. But, he wasn't ready for the shelf; he wanted a mountain.
What was his secret? There are several things that I think stand out. He was a man who obviously had a positive attitude and faith in God. It's easy to become negative as we get older, looking back on "the good old days". But Caleb refused to be negative. He had a positive faith in God. God said, "Even to your old age, I am he, and even to gray hairs I will carry you." (Isaiah 46:4). Caleb truly believed that, that God is in control at every stage of our lives.
Here was a man who had a divine purpose. He was in his eighties, but he believed that God had something important for him to do. And he believed that with God's help he could do it. He was a man who looked for ways to serve God despite his advancing age. There are tasks that an older Christian can do that a younger Christian just simply isn't equipped to do.
But, above all else, Caleb was obedient to the Lord. It's difficult for a person to obey God in his old age if he doesn't establish a pattern of obedience in his earlier years. But it can be done. The important thing is to continue to give yourself to the Lord no matter what your age.
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