As I was driving the other
day, I found myself thinking "I remember when this area was all bush and
there were no houses." A young man drove by in a fancy car with an
expensive exhaust system and I thought "Buy a muffler!" I heard myself
describing a man in his late 60's as middle aged. AAAARGGGG!! I've turned
into a geezer.
Somewhere between the end of
high school and 26 years of marriage I got older. I'm not quite sure when
it happened, I guess it just snuck up on me. Now being a geezer isn't all
bad. I've accumulated a little wisdom along the way.
I no longer feel the pressure
of having all the answers to all the world's problems if only someone
would listen to me. Now they might listen more, but I've found that
somehow the answers aren't as clear cut in many ways as they used to be.
I find I often don't understand the whole question now but I was certain
I had the answer then.
Some of the absolute truths
of my youth have turned out to be opinions. Some of the wisdom older
people (who in my opinion then had no idea of reality) had shared with me
in my younger days turned out to be true.
We live in a culture obsessed
by youth. It seems that most people will do anything to stay young. They
will have surgery, color their hair, inject botulism toxin into their
lips. You name it, anything goes in the desire to be young.
The reality of course is that
all of us age. If we're not aging, it's because we're already dead.
The plus side is that God
doesn't care how old we are. He has gifts and purpose for all His
children. If we are children, teens, young adults, geezers, or old timers
He wants to put us to work in building the kingdom.
For young Timothy, Saint Paul
had this to say.
Don't let anyone look down
on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in
speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:11 NIV
On the opposite end of the
spectrum, God used people like Abraham and Moses up until the day of
their deaths. Moses served until he was 120.
Moses was a hundred and
twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his
strength gone. Deuteronomy 34:7 NIV
Abraham was seventy five when
the Lord called him.
So Abram left, as the LORD
had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old
when he set out from Haran. Genesis 12:4 NIV
It's never too early or too
late to get involved in serving God. There is no minimum age requirement
and there is no retirement age listed anywhere in Scripture.
Until next time, no matter
how old you are, remember you are called to be an active member in the
Lord's army.
Be blessed.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)!
Kevin
