Older?
On a recent Sunday I was a guest speaker at a congregation for the first time. I didn’t know many people there so when I slide into a pew a few minutes before the service started the kind lady in front of me turned around and asked me if I was a guest. When I said I was she asked if I was from there, moving there or just passing through. I said, “Just passing through.” She gave me a very kind “welcome” and then invited me to stay for Bible class after. I was actually meeting with the elders during class that morning to talk about hiring a preacher, so I said “yes” that I did plan on staying. She quickly said: “Well, we have a wonderful class for older men you should check out.”
You’ll never know where I buried the body :).
Seriously, I am aware I’m getting older, and looking older, because many of my friends around me are looking the part. And, I am aware that getting older will not automatically make me better. For the Chrisitan as is a reminder:
As I grow older, I should grow more Christlike, kinder, wiser in my boldness, and patient with those around me.
As I grow older, it should remind me that I am, as Paul would say it “in this mortal flesh” and that, at some point, I will no longer be. As I grow older, I should crave heaven more. Not in a morbid way, but in a hopeful way. I should think often of the place where there’s no more pain, no more parting, no more sin.
As I grow older, I should focus more on those who will lead in the future.
As I grow older, I should be quicker to forgive and slower to speak harshly. I’ve seen too much grace not to extend it.
As I grow older, I should be more willing to say, “I was wrong,” “I don’t know,” and “I love you.”
As I grow older, I should model what a finishing life looks like—not coasting to the end, but sprinting with purpose, fueled by grace, cheering on those coming behind me.
As I grow older, I should work with greater fervor, “numbering” my days to the most effectiveness. I must not coast or allow myself to become lazy or overly predictable to the point of boring others, but I must keep growing in my skills and challenging myself.
As I grow older, I should grow to remember that my mission is not about me but about Jesus.
And when the day comes when we can no longer do what we once did, may we still be found faithful—still smiling, still praying, still believing, still becoming.
And as I grow older, the words “DON’T QUIT” must ring loudly in my mind.