Quite a number of years ago, a very old lady and a good friend died. She was in her 90s and never married. She had lived in a farmhouse her whole life, maybe the last fifty years taking care of her sister who had the mind of a child. In her younger days, she had gone to a small fundamentalist Bible college. We took her back for a reunion of sorts a few years before she died.
She was a poet. On occasion, someone would print one of her poems and she published a small book of them. Every year or so I return to the book to read through her poetry. She was a Christian women whose conversation invariably turned to the Lord. She was also a bit cantankerous. It is not just her that I am bringing up in this post, it is all the elderly Christian people that I have known. When I meet someone at an advanced age, who has travelled a long road, and they are a Christian, it is more than encouraging. They had gone through their youth, through middle age, and through the beginnings of their senior life into what surely is nearness to seeing the Lord and they have had faith for all those years and through what would most surely be, many trials. Most are feeble, wrinkled, their voice is no longer powerful. They may have to think a moment or two before answering a question, but there is no athletic endeavor, no celebration at a game ending horn, no award that even comes close to a person who has walked this earth eighty or more years and gives testimony to a faithful Lord who will call them home when it is time.
I'm just beginning to realize that I am not as young as I once was and I do not know what a single day will bring. I ran a marathon, once. I may have related this before, it took me so long to finish that a mounted policeman looked at me as if I was keeping him from supper. An elderly couple crossed the finish line just before me, a small crowd cheering for them. As much as elderly Christians encourages me, the elderly who who have no faith and are satisfied are a source of particular sadness. Should the Lord tarry in His return, my generation (the boomers) will be no more. Try an experiment, sit an look at the minute hand on your watch for a while. you can actually see it moving. Nothing stops time. Scripture says "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." It is my belief that the Book of Hebrews was a sermon, and that it is a model for every sermon. If you are looking for a place to start in reading the Bible, this would be a good choice.
She was a poet. On occasion, someone would print one of her poems and she published a small book of them. Every year or so I return to the book to read through her poetry. She was a Christian women whose conversation invariably turned to the Lord. She was also a bit cantankerous. It is not just her that I am bringing up in this post, it is all the elderly Christian people that I have known. When I meet someone at an advanced age, who has travelled a long road, and they are a Christian, it is more than encouraging. They had gone through their youth, through middle age, and through the beginnings of their senior life into what surely is nearness to seeing the Lord and they have had faith for all those years and through what would most surely be, many trials. Most are feeble, wrinkled, their voice is no longer powerful. They may have to think a moment or two before answering a question, but there is no athletic endeavor, no celebration at a game ending horn, no award that even comes close to a person who has walked this earth eighty or more years and gives testimony to a faithful Lord who will call them home when it is time.
I'm just beginning to realize that I am not as young as I once was and I do not know what a single day will bring. I ran a marathon, once. I may have related this before, it took me so long to finish that a mounted policeman looked at me as if I was keeping him from supper. An elderly couple crossed the finish line just before me, a small crowd cheering for them. As much as elderly Christians encourages me, the elderly who who have no faith and are satisfied are a source of particular sadness. Should the Lord tarry in His return, my generation (the boomers) will be no more. Try an experiment, sit an look at the minute hand on your watch for a while. you can actually see it moving. Nothing stops time. Scripture says "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." It is my belief that the Book of Hebrews was a sermon, and that it is a model for every sermon. If you are looking for a place to start in reading the Bible, this would be a good choice.
