When I look into the mirror I am sometimes oddly surprised
by the older man looking back at me. How did this happen? The gray hair, what little I have, the lines
in my face, are time’s mark. Mostly I am at peace with the fact of ‘age,’ but there are moments when I wish
I had the stamina of my youth, the strength of my 30’s! Then, too, I exist in a
culture which assigns no value to growing old. Billions of dollars and millions
of hours are spent to hang onto a firm body, to reclaim the beauty of youth. And,
why not, when we see the elderly left alone, sometimes warehoused in nursing
homes by families with no time for Mom’s stories, Dad’s rambling, or the time
it takes to get around at 80? Then, too,
it is hard to see any glory in an Alzheimer’s ward, isn’t it?
But, does our fixation on eternal youth
and virility keep us from finding a greater grace?
Mark Galli writes in the May, 2018 issue of Christianity
Today about aging. He asserts that “we
are in our physical and mental prime from our late teens to our early 20’s. …
But from that point on, we slowly but surely become unable. We’re not as quick
on the field, childbearing takes something out of else that never comes back …
a knee goes out, vision clouds …
Whether gradually or quickly, we move to that state where our entire
being is ‘disabled;’ we die.” He goes to say that while this may be
heartbreaking it is not tragedy.
Before you dismiss him (or me) would you listen to the Word
of God? "Therefore we do not lose
heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being
renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is
working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2
Corinthians 4:16-17, NKJV) It can be
hard to grasp that there is a glory unfolding inside even as there is loss on the
outside. It requires faith. In the last
decade, I have lived up close and personal with loss, with sickness, with
death. I won’t insult your intelligence by putting a nice spin on it, tying it
up with a neat bow of platitudes.
Watching my Dad die a hard death with wasting disease over
14 months was an agony. Yet, tempering the pain, there were moments of amazing
grace. I’ll never forget cradling his head in my lap at 2 am on a Monday
morning, singing softly to him of God’s faithfulness and feeling the Spirit
minister to both of us. Our stormy relationship found healing in the long
nights of shared pain; his physical, mine emotional. As I watched death stalk him, vision developed that allows me to see into eternity with more clarity.
2 years later one of my more crushing memories
is coming home from vacation that Summer and having to make the trip to tell my
Mom that her doctors had found advanced lung cancer in her body. That little woman of 73 years bent herself in
half sobbing. But, then she composed herself and her final days were a demonstration
of the depth of her faith as life was slowly ending. She moved into our home
and in her company I found sweet loving peace. I can still see her lying in the
bed where she would die, holding frail hands heavenward, caught up in prayer. Faith
grew!
Three years later, my own Bev was diagnosed with advanced
ovarian cancer and we began a 20 month journey of grief, resolution, and love;
accompanied by our 4 adult children who spent themselves to come and stand
alongside of us. It was ugly to live
with the almost weekly losses of that last year. In all the sorrow and pain of
loss, we found the deepest love we had ever known. I am shocked today when I
look at the pictures of her in advanced stages of her cancer. She looks terrible, but then I saw only the
woman I loved. The promise of the
Resurrection is no longer just words! It is my hope.
No, I am not suggesting that the only way to find love,
grace, or faith is to get terminal illness. But, I will boldly suggest that the things of God become dearer and nearer
when and if we accept the inevitable decline of the body and increasingly turn
our gaze to spiritual things. One of the tragedies of our culture is the
failure of my generation to let go of the obvious benefits of their youth to
claim the prize that is found in loving deeper, serving faithfully, and becoming
wise. These are to be the glory of our
later years. They can make us beautiful even as bodies grow wrinkled and weak!
We don’t have to turn into bitter old people, railing at ‘those terrible kids’
who live around us. We can be sweet with the love of Jesus, capable of spending
more time with Him, loving the beauty of life around us, even those we see it
through clouded eyes.
Galli writes “There is
something about our inability that reveals the heart of the Gospel. We’re not
sure what Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ was, but it is not a reach to see it as a
physical disability.” How did the
Lord explain that to the preacher? Here
is what Paul tells us - "even though
I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming
proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me
and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to
take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best
in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast
about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."
(2 Corinthians 12:7-9, NLT)
Have you bought the myth of a fountain of youth?
Are you captivated by the superficiality of maintaining the
illusion of agelessness?
Living a healthful life is
good. Making choices that allow a good and long life are admirable, but …
No one stops time.
Make the choice to grow beautiful in soul, filled with the glory of God.
Here is a word from the Word. "Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your
Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not
pleasant anymore.” Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is
dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. … my child, let me give you some further advice:
Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. That’s
the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his
commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do,
including every secret thing, whether good or bad." (Ecclesiastes 12:1-2,12-14,
NLT)
Pastor Jerry Scott
FAITH DISCOVERY CHURCH
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