By Caro March 18, 2022
We spend our adult lives working hard to pay our expenses and save for our retirement. We know that one day we will stop working. Now, in the Lord, we are never too old to serve.
When we read articles or listen to sermons that teach us about our calling, our part to do in the work of God, we too often believe that these messages are for young people. Yet God used many older people for His glory. We can see Abraham, who had a child at 100 years old, and Caleb, who conquered a mountain at 85 years old (Joshua 14:6-13). There is no age to do something remarkable for God.
If we look at the nature created by God, anything that stops producing, or growing, is either dead or about to die. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that a servant of God cannot retire and cease to serve God. “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Psalms 92:12-16 NKJV).
When King David decided to stay away from the battle when he decided to take “a vacation”, that is when he fell into adultery with Bathsheba. It was when Samson decided to give up his Nazarite calling, when he left his position as a judge, that he was defeated by Delila. When a servant of God decides that they have done enough, that they no longer feel the need to serve God, that is where the degeneration usually begins. Paul encouraged his contemporaries to continue the work of God until their death (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
The projects will change with age and with our physical abilities. The Levites, for example, could no longer serve in the tent of meeting (the Temple) after the age of 50. But they weren’t retired; they just changed jobs and then worked outside the tent (Numbers 8:23-26). It is also appropriate to take a few days off from time to time to rest after a big project, as Jesus did with His disciples (Mark 6:31). But we can’t say we’ve done enough for God, that we can now stay home and enjoy life thinking only of ourselves. “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13 NKJV).
So which spiritual project are you working on right now? What talents are you putting to the service of God at this time? We have no reason to be idle (2 Peter 1:8). Your mission may change with age, but you will always be useful for the growth of the Kingdom of God. That also means that no matter how old we are, we must also maintain our standards of holiness when we are unmarried. We must remain blameless well into our old age: we cannot afford to be grumpy because we are old! We must always remain a good witness for Christ, continue to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, and this, until our last breath. “Who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:8 NKJV).