My patients routinely ask me, “Doc, why do these brown rough spots grow on my back? Why do my joints hurt so bad?”
I respond with a smile, “That’s the price you pay for living so long.” We all grow old and our physical bodies become infirm. A good portion of my medical practice is devoted to combatting the consequences of aging — achy-breaky joints, clogged arteries, failing vision, poor balance — you get the picture. Some of you have been there and are doing this right now!
I once was called to consult on a patient whom the nurses informed me was suicidal. I reviewed his chart and discovered that this 92-year-old African-American man had severe rheumatoid arthritis and had been blind from glaucoma for 20 years. After I introduced myself, we found out we were both Christians in the first five minutes. (What’s in you is what comes out of you.) We had a delightful conversation sharing our testimonies and rejoicing in the Lord. Then I inquired, “Sir, why would the nurses suspect you of being suicidal?”
He paused a moment and looked up at the ceiling as if he could see and responded slowly, “I suppose, Doctor, it is because I told them I was ready to go see Jesus. Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t harm myself, but I am ready to see the Lord. Besides, my precious wife and my beloved parents are on the other side.”
I nodded as I began to comprehend.
He then reached for my hand and looked at me intently with unseeing eyes and asked earnestly, “Why do you think the Lord leaves me here for so long? I am a terrible burden to my children and grandchildren, and I can’t do anything for myself.” He held up his hands, which were frozen shut in a perpetual, closed fist due to his arthritis.
I prayed for wisdom and responded, “My brother, I don’t really know, but I suspect it is so your children can learn to be more like Jesus.”
He cocked his head and said, “Come again?”
“When your children have to take care of you, they have to die to their selfish desires and become a servant to you. They are never more like Jesus than when they serve you. Jesus said, ‘I did not come to be served but to serve and to give my life a ransom for many.’ God places a premium on developing a servant’s heart, and He is using you to cultivate that in the heart of your children and grandchildren.”
“So there is a purpose for me to be here so long?” He pondered that a moment, then he smiled and thumped his crippled hands on both thighs with delight. “Thank you, my brother, thank you,” he said.
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With age comes perspective (wisdom) and gray hair (unless you make a significant investment in Lady Clairol). Like the preacher in Ecclesiastes, we come to realize there are many things in life that are vain and futile. The closer we get to the end, the more we realize that only two things really matter: our relationship with God, and our relationship with our family.
All the rest is part of the world “that grows strangely dim” — the careers we gave our life to, the retirement account we invested in, the beach house, our hobbies. All of this suddenly pales into insignificance. I have been privileged to observe many of my patients who are facing terminal illness make things right with God and their families, creating a joyful exit from this life because they suddenly wised up.
The psalmist asks God, “Teach me to number my days that I may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.” Then he cries out to God, begging Him to “establish the work of my hands, yes, establish the work of my hands.” The heart of man yearns for some kind of lasting legacy and an enduring impact after his life has ebbed away.
As we grow older and God grants to us a heart of wisdom, how do we establish the work of our hands in such a way that it leaves a lasting impact for the kingdom of God?
1. BY THE CHILDREN THAT WE BEAR
As we “raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” they will outlive us and carry on our love for God, His church, His word, and His kingdom.
2. BY THOSE WE LEAD TO CHRIST
The impact of your life lingers long after you leave in the life of those you introduce to Jesus Christ.
3. BY THOSE WE DISCIPLE
Every baby Christian that we disciple to full maturity in Christ will naturally reproduce themselves in the life of another disciple, perpetuating your influence in God’s kingdom.
4. BY THE MONEY WE INVEST IN HIS KINGDOM
Our wise financial contributions to Christian ministries that are truly evangelical and truly equipping young people for Christian ministry will definitely outlive us.
5. BY THE THINGS THAT WE WRITE
Most of us know little to nothing about our great-grandparents. Why is that? It is because they left us nothing in writing about themselves. I encourage you to write out your testimonies and interesting facts about your life’s journey for your children and grandchildren — and challenge them to walk in righteousness. If you are not a good writer, dictate into a recording device of some sort and make multiple copies. My wife’s father, a Baptist preacher and World War II vet, recorded his life story in a four-hour video (in addition to file cabinets full of papers and sermons). Like us, your posterity will value this like gold long after you are gone.
With age comes infirmity — but also wisdom, life experience, and Bible knowledge for us Christian folk. The 65-to-85 demographic in the church is healthier and wealthier than they have ever been in previous generations. The opportunities for ministry in the church and in the community are limitless.
For example, I am 66 years old, blind in one eye due to glaucoma, have constant weeping from 25 glaucoma surgeries, experience migraine headaches three-to-four days per week — yet, I delight in teaching third-grade boys in Sunday school, teaching the Bible on a weekly radio broadcast, discipling three men each Sunday morning before church, writing Christian books, and work four days a week at a medical clinic.
“Lord, teach me to number my days” and “establish the work of my hands.”
— Robert Jackson, a member of First Baptist Church, Boiling Springs, is a family practice doctor in Chesnee. His book, “The Family Doctor Speaks: The Truth About Life,” is available at jacksonfamilyministry.com.