Old, But Not Out!

“With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.” – Job 12:12

When retirement loomed before me, I wondered what I would be doing to occupy those 8-10 hours that previously had been filled with teaching and all that goes along with that particular career. I thought I would have endless hours of idleness, but nothing has been farther from the truth. My days are busy with homeschooling grandchildren, running a health and wellness business, and writing. In fact, there are times when I wonder how I will find the time to do all the things I have planned in a day!

I did discover that with retirement comes revelation. Mine was realizing that I was replaceable! When I retired from teaching middle school, there was no void left in my absence. Instead, my vacancy was filled by a younger, more energetic teacher, who was eager to take up where I left off. Aaugh! My pride took a direct hit! But I managed to shake that off. My life was not over, but sadly, that revelation sometimes takes roots in the minds of the elderly.

Sometimes the retirement mindset of replacement invades our thoughts when it comes to serving God. Maybe you no longer have the energy to teach a Sunday school class or you struggle to drive at night, so you no longer attend some of the social functions of the church. Perhaps you live in a retirement home where you cannot always attend your home church or even get out and about on your own. What can you possibly do for the Lord?

I have great news!! God doesn’t use age as a qualifier for service! Here are three examples from the Scriptures of how God used the elderly.

• “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?” – Genesis 17:17
  1. Sarah was 90 years old when she gave birth to Isaac, the son God promised to Abraham, who was 100 years old at that time.
• “And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.” – Genesis 7:6
  1. Noah was 600 years old during the time period that God flooded the earth, and then Noah had the responsibility of reestablishing humankind on the planet.
• “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” – Luke 17:36-37
  1. Anna served in the Lord’s temple when she was more than 80 years old along with Simeon, who was also an elderly servant of the Lord.

So practically speaking, what can an older individual do for the Lord? Plenty!

• Pray – Any person can pray! The Bible instructs us to “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and age is not an excuse to stop praying in your life. There are no restrictions to prayer… position doesn’t matter; time of day is irrelevant; the place is not a factor in prayer, and most importantly, age is not factor! Prayer can be done anytime, anyplace, and by anyone of any age! That includes the elderly, so you can most certainly be a prayer warrior for Jesus!
• Witness – Age is not important when it comes to sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ with those who are lost in their sins. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) We are all called to be witnesses of God’s “good news,” and we can do it anywhere… over tea with a friend, through a card or letter, with a phone call, or even by a text message!
• Teach – There is no age limit on teaching. In fact, being older gives us more knowledge and experience than the younger generations. Teaching about the Lord doesn’t have to done in a formal classroom setting either. We can teach others about the Lord wherever we happen to be… at the beach, at home, in the grocery store… whenever God’s Holy Spirit prompts us to teach His Word to someone, we should be ready and willing to do so! “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.” (Deuteronomy 32:7)

The Bible never tells us that there will come a time during our life when we can retire from doing the work of the Lord. Instead, we are instructed to continue His work for our entire lives as is evidence by the writings of the apostle Paul. No matter our age, our work is never in vain when it is God-centered.

• “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” -1 Corinthians 15:58
• “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” – Colossians 3:23
• “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” – Philippians 2:16

Our usefulness to God doesn’t end when we hit the magic age of 65 or 70. It doesn’t end until He takes us home through death or the Rapture. Until then, it is important to continue the work to which He has called us. Then one sweet day, we will hopefully hear Him say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21)

O Jesus, I have promised
To serve thee to the end;
Be thou forever near me,
My Master and my friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If thou wilt be my guide.

(from “O Jesus, I Have Promised” by John Ernest Bode)

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” – Hebrews 6:10

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“Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily.” -St. Francis de Sales