What are you looking forward to in 2023? For me, it is discovering what assignment God has for me following my retirement from The Courier. I will miss the great Courier staff and the fellowship we have enjoyed, but as the saying reminds us, “Life goes on.”
Art Linkletter’s attitude toward aging was, “Live until you die and don’t stop a moment earlier. Old age is not for sissies. You live between your ears. You can’t turn back the clock, but you can rewind it.”
Genesis 25:8 is a truth I believe every Christian would aspire to achieve: “Then Abraham died, an old man and satisfied with life.”
In the little book I wrote, “You Can Live Until You Die,” I stated, “When does a person become elderly? Some are old at 50, while others are still young at 70. Some are suggesting that 70 is the new 50.” I am 69 and five months, and I want to intelligently believe that I can live like I am 50.
All of us will die (Hebrews 9:28), and all of us are slowly dying. Eduardo Gonzales, M.D., said that we begin to age after 35. We experience “decrease in muscle mass, loss of bone mass, increase in body fat, pain and stiffness of the joints, and graying and/or loss of hair.” Our hearing is not as good, and neither is our seeing. Our reflexes slow, and our immune system becomes weaker. I think I will stop for fear of sending the wrong message.
Retirement is not the time to quit living but to refocus as we enter a special rite of passage. Older age does not mean that life or service in God’s kingdom is over. It means we are in the fourth quarter of the game, but the game is still being played. Internationally renowned cardiologist George Burch once said, “The quickest way to the end is to retire and do nothing. Every human being must keep an interest in life to keep living.”
Mark Twain said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Winston Churchill was elected prime minister of Great Britain when he was 65, and Socrates learned to play musical instruments at 80 — maybe I can become a better saxophone player!
Benjamin Franklin, a dominant figure in the history of our nation, is the only founding father to sign four fundamental documents of our country. He signed the Declaration of Independence at 70; the Treaty of Alliance with France at 72; the Treaty of Paris at 77; and the Constitution at 81.
William Mitchell wrote a best-selling book in 1986, “The Power of Positive Students.” He stated, “A student is a person committed to learning. I am more a student today at 82 than I was when I wrote the book.”
First Corinthians 10:31 is an important verse for every Christian. It should be our motto for life: “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.”
A verse that has been fundamental in my life, and one we used here at The Courier as our base, is Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Whatever our age or circumstances, we have good works prepared by God Himself for us to do. Our calling is to do them!
I am retiring, but I am not quitting. I preached for 37 years, and I hope and pray to preach in retirement. I have been a nationally certified counselor for over 25 years, and I am ready to re-enter that type of ministry. Whatever it is that God has prepared for me to do, that’s what I want to do.
If you are, like me, among the “elderly,” let us determine to make our practicing age about 20 years younger than our physical age! In his book, “Don’t Waste Your Life,” John Piper quoted C.S. Lewis: “Newness is no virtue and oldness no vice. Nothing is inferior for being old, and nothing is valuable for being modern.” One of the critical keys to living until you die is learning to stay focused. It starts by fixing our eyes on Jesus!
From our home to yours, Happy New Year!