The righteous will flourish like a palm tree

They will still bear fruit in old age

They will stay fresh and green

Psalms 92:12-15, NIV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

II Corinthians 4:16, ESV

 

I have to admit there are some things about getting older that I do not like. I don't like the fact that I can't play basketball anymore. I don't enjoy having to take time out of the day to stretch just so that I can function. I sometimes have to take two or three trips to carry loads that used to just take one. I don't like the fact that my memory is not as sharp as it once was. I find myself wandering around the house at times trying to remember what I was looking for in the first place. Fortunately, I usually find my way to the kitchen on such occasions so that I can get a snack to sustain me in that search. 

 

The fact is that there are a number of things about getting older that are just not much fun. On the other hand, age does have certain advantages. For example: I do like getting a monthly check in the mail from the same organization that used to take money out of my check each month. I love having grandchildren who are energetic and who will willingly show their love to me by running to the kitchen to fetch me a snack. Sometimes they will even suggest such kindnesses without even being asked. On these occasions, they will often share those treats so that I won't have to eat alone. I like having a bit more wisdom than I used to possess, though I have to admit that I still don't use it as often as I should.

 

But more than anything, I enjoy the prospect that my advancing age is actually taking me somewhere that I want to go - heaven!

 

And though I don't deserve such blessing, I do find the vital truths of the 92nd Psalm that we read above. I have found that while so many people just seem to be getting older and seem to complain more and more about that fact, that the righteous do not have to get stale and just wither on the vine. God still has useful work for those who will notice, and that very usefulness keeps us fresh and green and capable of bearing fruit for Him.

 

One of the saddest things in life is to watch people grow older and think that they are no longer useful. Perhaps they had an important job that made them feel useful and needed, but once having retired, they now feel their days of usefulness are over. People no longer come to them for advice or direction. Having lost that vital role of being needed for a career they no longer have; some people just slowly fade away. Compounding this loss is the fact the some either do not have family, or their family has grown apart. Loneliness can sink in at such times, especially if they cannot or will not get out of the house and get involved in some worthy project that allows them to be around others and feel useful again.  

 

The good news is that these feelings of loneliness and uselessness do not have to continue. God has saved some of the most important work of our life for old age. We can and must get involved with the church. We can enjoy the fellowship of other Christians. We can volunteer our time and efforts to help others even though we have no obvious prospect of being repaid for such endeavors, only to find out that the satisfaction of helping others who truly need that help is a payment far beyond any salary we ever had when younger.

 

For those who will give their lives over to Christ, there will be the pleasant discovery that the days are packed with joy and important things to do! Satisfying work for the Master is available for all who will just open their eyes and look around. After a while, we will find that our inner selves are indeed being renewed day by day and that we are no longer growing stale and rotting on the vine from disuse. And, if we are wise, we will realize that old age is the best time of life. We have time to be around those we love, and we can make time for those who need us. And the best news is that each day we live finds us one day closer to the eternity that God has created us for in the first place.

 

And that day will bring about reunions with faithful Christians who have gone on before us. That day will find us with a new body that will never wear out. It will find us in a place where evil does not exist, so our existence can be filled with a joy that comes from having useful and satisfying work that is unencumbered by wicked people who just seem to always be opposed to anything good and decent. 

 

And we will be in the presence of God and Christ forever!

 

This time is coming closer and closer each day - and this is a good thing for those who are faithful servants of God. The wise will understand that while our physical bodies are indeed suffering the consequences of aging, that our inward self is being renewed, refreshed and revitalized! We are going to heaven, you and I, if we will just be faithful while we are here. And that faithfulness is not a punishment; it is a great reward. It brings satisfying work, brings us in contact with likeminded people who are pleasant to be around, and in the end, it brings us to the point where God has always intended for us to be: With Him!

 

If you have been feeling sorry for yourself, let me just say this: Welcome to the club! Now stop it, and get on with the wonderful, blessing-filled life that God has called you to! There is important work to be done, but it cannot be accomplished by those who are feeling useless and sorry for themselves. No, this work is only for those who are young - for those who are being renewed day by day regardless of that old person that greets them in the mirror each morning. We just have to remember that our age is determined not by the outer man, but the soul that dwells within him. And that soul has important work which must be done!