I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath! [Psalm 104:33 (NLT)]
English philosopher Francis Bacon defined “old age” as “always 15 years older than I am.” He would have liked it here in southwest Florida because there always seems to be someone fifteen years older. Nevertheless, having recently celebrated my 77th birthday, it’s getting increasingly hard to find them! While I enjoy being told I look good, I don’t like hearing the “for your age!” ending that sentence! Hearing that qualified compliment, being called “Hon” or “Sweetie” by a waitperson or nurse less than half my age, or people assuming my grey hair means I’m computer inept and/or hard of hearing remind me of the subtle ageism in today’s society.
When I first learned about Daniel in the lion’s den in Sunday school, my teacher used a flannel board to tell the story and flannel Daniel had a full head of brown hair. The coloring page that accompanied Daniel’s story when my children attended Sunday school was of a strapping muscular youth. Even the illustrated Bible I gave my grand showed a powerfully built young man sitting amidst the lions. All of those portrayals were wrong! Nebuchadnezzar took only the strongest, healthiest, and best-looking young men for palace training. That however, was 605 BC. It wasn’t until 539 BC (during the reign of Darius the Mede) that Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. By that time, he’d served as a government official for sixty-six years and probably was into his eighties! He’d lived among Gentiles in a pagan land for over six decades; nevertheless, even though he faced a gruesome death, he defied the king’s edict. Daniel went home, opened the windows, knelt down, and prayed to Jehovah as he’d done every day of his sixty-six-year captivity!
Daniel was an old man; then again, so was Abraham. He was 75 when God called him to leave his home, 86 when Ishmael was born, 99 when circumcised, and 100 when Isaac was born. Moses was 80 and Aaron 83 when they led the Israelites out of Egypt on what became a 40-year trek. Joshua was between 68 and 80 when he led Israel into the Promised Land and Caleb was 85 when he drove the Anakites from Hebron. Jeremiah ministered under Judah’s last five kings and was still prophesying until he was killed in his 70s. When he wrote his gospel and epistles, the Apostle John probably was in his mid to late 70s and, when he wrote Revelation, the man was well into his 80s. Sarah was 90 when pregnant with Isaac and the prophet Anna was over 100 when she recognized Jesus as the Messiah. While we may find ageism in today’s society but there is no such thing as ageism or retirement in God’s Kingdom! The younger ones in Christ’s church never must make the mistake of misjudging or undervaluing the seniors in their midst. I suspect the men who conspired against Daniel underestimated the power of an old man who trusted in God (a fatal mistake since they were the ones eaten by lions that day)!
On the other hand, those of us in our golden (but somewhat rusty) years must stop discounting our value, as well. That we’re facing some limitations or challenges due to age simply means it’s time to reevaluate, not to stop! As seniors, we provide strength, stability, encouragement, and wisdom to our younger brothers and sisters. No matter how old we are, we can always share God’s love and our prayers. God wasn’t finished with Daniel, Abraham, or Moses and He’s not finished with us!
Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t. [Richard Bach]
Back in in 1586, during the Eighty Years’ War, Sir Philip Sidney was fighting for the Protestant cause against the Spanish when he noticed another soldier was without leg armor. Believing that he shouldn’t be better protected than his men, Sidney gave the man his cuisses (armor that covered the thigh). During the Battle of Zutphen, Sidney was fatally wounded in his thigh during the final charge and, three weeks later, he died of gangrene from the injury. While heroic, his death was avoidable if the man had worn his complete set of armor!
God’s armor includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. No soldier, however, would go into battle without a weapon. While a soldier might go into battle without armor as did David when he met Goliath, he’d never go without a weapon. The young shepherd’s weapon was a handful of stones but the Christian’s weapon is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
As a young child, I loved singing “Onward, Christian Soldiers” in Sunday school. My enthusiasm for the hymn waned as I grew older and learned about the evil and horrors of the Crusades and the World, Korean, and Vietnam wars. With its mention of war, soldiers, mighty armies, battles, and foes, the hymn seemed to glorify war. Even though the martial imagery comes from Biblical texts, the hymn’s combination of soldiers marching into battle and Jesus (the Prince of Peace) has caused controversy and some denominations have eliminated it from their hymnals.
Described as a “preaching genius…like no other preacher you have ever heard,” the late Rev. Fred Craddock was well-known for including stories in his sermons. He told one that took place during the early 60s in a diner in the deep South. Although the white Craddock sat in a booth and was served with courtesy and consideration, he silently watched the diner’s manager treat a Black man at the counter with rudeness, disdain, and open contempt. Although offended by the man’s racist behavior, Craddock remained silent. It was when he walked out of the diner after finishing his meal that the preacher heard a rooster crow. A signal of his betrayal, the crowing told the preacher that, by ignoring one of the “least of these”, he’d ignored Jesus! His silence was as much a betrayal of the Lord as were Peter’s denials!
Having previously warned people that not everyone who claimed to follow Him would enter the Kingdom, Jesus told the Parable of the Sheep and Goats in which He likened the last judgment to a king separating the sheep from the goats at the end of the day. Placing the sheep to His right and the goats to His left, the King invites the sheep into the Kingdom. The reasoning behind His selection is disarmingly simple: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” [Matthew 25:35-36] Having failed to do those things, the goats are sent into eternal punishment.
Devotions of the Heart 