The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. | Proverbs 20:29
On Sunday, Pastor Garrett preached on how God has created our world to provide a greater understanding of Him. Marriage, parenting, and the human body all play a role in how we imagine God to be. This is intentional. When God uses the body as a metaphor for the church family, He is not just picking something that closely resembles the unity/diversity that exists; He is revealing a truth that He designed into His creation.
I had the privilege on Sunday to experience another one of these designed metaphors. I attended a worship service that one of the members of our church leads at a local retirement center. Spending time with older people puts you face to face with a number of things. The first is that we deteriorate with age. As human beings get older: bodies fail, minds lose recall, and sicknesses that used to simply be an inconvenience can land you in the hospital for weeks.
A second thing that becomes evident when you spend time with the elderly is that the things that we invest all of our time and energy in becomes much less important as we age. Things like beauty, recognition, and respect seem to mean less to those who have lived a bit longer. Many of these people had all of these things at one time, but it just doesn’t seem as important anymore. Some older people will look back on glory days and age in frustration, but I have found that those connected to Christ age otherwise.
Which is the third thing that I am reminded of whenever I spend time with older people: they are much more excited about Jesus coming. For younger people, there is still this hope that this world will provide happiness. That somehow the next raise, vacation, or home is going to provide joy and peace. But once the body and mind begin to go backwards, this hope decreases. This world can be seen for what it is.
In this time of ADVENT, it is helpful for me to consider the wisdom of those who have seen much more than I have. Part of what growing old teaches us is that everything in this world will fade (even us). The things that seem so important today will be afterthoughts tomorrow. In the end, the thing that we will desire most is for Jesus, the only answer to the longing of this life, to come and make all things new. If you still have your health and strength, great, but don’t put your hope there. Instead, use whatever time you have left, living for the source of all hope. When your body fails you, your hope will be strengthened!