The psalmist wrote in
Psalm 92:12-15
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a
cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in
the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of
sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is
no unrighteousness in him.”
This passage suggests
that there is a place of service for the elderly in service of God. They are able to bear fruit and flourish despite
their old age. Consider God’s use of
older people in the Bible.
Moses and Aaron were
chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage at the ages of 80 and 83.
They served the people of God for forty years. Moses wrote in Psalm 90:10 “The years of our life are seventy, or even
by reason of strength eighty.” So he and his brother were already past the
normal life span when they were used by God.
After the death of Moses,
Joshua was given the charge of leading the Israelites in the conquest of
Canaan. He was 80 years old at the time.
Caleb, who had fought
alongside Joshua since he was young, requested his portion of land from Joshua
when he was elderly. We read his request in Joshua 14:11-12, “I am this day eighty-five years old. I am
still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now
is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me
this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that
day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the
LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.” He
and his clan fought and drove out giants in the land.
And let’s not forget
Daniel who was taken away from Israel as a teen during the Babylonian
captivity. He served God for over 70 years. He was well over eighty when he served
as one of three governors over Babylon. History shows that he was over 83 years
old when he was thrown into the lion’s den, and after that God gave him a
series of prophetic visions.
Just as God used the
elderly in Bible times, God still
uses older people today. Elders help the church function properly. God
designed the church to be overseen by elders. The apostle Paul wrote this
instruction to his young protégé Titus. “An
elder, as God's steward, must be above reproach, not arrogant or quick-tempered
or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good,
self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” Titus 1:7-8
Later in that same book
Paul tells Titus that the older women are to serve as examples in the church. “Older women are to be reverent in behavior,
not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so
train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be
self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own
husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” Titus 2:3-5
God is not finished with you
yet, no matter what your age. There are many ways you can serve the Lord. One
of the best things you can do is spend your time in prayer. Maybe you can
exercise your benevolence. Most elderly people are more financially secure that
younger families are. You could encourage others with cards or letters or you
could even have a Bible study where you live.
There’s an 85 year old
gentleman in my church who spreads the word of God by giving away devotionals
or Bible tracts. I have another friend who is 84 years old and he has
ministered in the local jail for 30 years. He also feeds cattle daily and has
pastored his church for the last seven years.
The Apostle Paul was
still writing letters of instruction to the churches even in his later years. May
the attitude of "Paul the
aged" be in you.
Not that I have already obtained this
or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus
has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what
lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in
anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us
hold true to what we have attained. Philippians 3:12-16
