Getting Old God's Way

 

Getting Old God's Way

Some Thoughts After Walking the Dog

Restoring Truth

January 4, 2025

 

 

 

At some point, we all find ourselves at some sober midpoint in life— a time when we look backwards in horror or forwards in fear. We lament squandered youth and dread the physical perils of old age. Even as believers, it is natural to feel some trepidation as we reflect on such things and begin to number our days.

I walk my dogs to the beach most mornings, and along the way, I pass an elderly man with a small, white dog. Just like me, he walks faithfully, though his walk is limited to a straight stretch of sidewalk alongside a lake.  Pagan America: The Dec... Davidson, John Daniel Best Price: $14.90 Buy New $21.00 (as of 03:01 UTC - Details)

For me, he’s a haunting reminder of aging. Though he is tall, he moves slowly, haltingly. When he turns to see who’s coming, he doesn’t just turn his head; his whole body rotates stiffly. While I’m trying to hustle by with my big labradors, he stands still in the middle of the sidewalk, his warm expression inviting me to interact with him and his tiny dog. I always hustle by with a quick hello—and feel a little sad.

Plenty of people worry about aging. Have you ever walked the streets of Palm Beach? There you will observe many tight-faced old women—most with shocked expressions, blonde hair and identical noses, beautifully dressed but still clocking in at 75 years. They will perhaps live out those years in enviable style, but even their many surgeries cannot delay sin’s swiftly-approaching curse.

For the believer, life isn’t a big slog through retinols and medical procedures—helpful though they may be. Instead, a believer’s lifetime is just the beginning of an eternity spent in service to the King of Kings. It’s our opportunity to develop deep relationship with the God whom we will serve forever. Through our rocky pilgrimages, we will discover, treasure, and increasingly resemble his own Kingly character.

While worldlings may battle wrinkles to the death, believers have a very different assignment. We are not deployed here to gather admirers, but disciples. We do not seek our own praise, but his. We work in earthly callings, but ultimately in his fields, with our various talents yielded to increase his spiritual harvest. In this way, we serve as ambassadors and servants—from youth through old age—marching through history into eternity, leaving his ageless fragrance in our wake.

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Knowing how big and sweeping his kingdom is, we could feel daunted by such an assignment. Mercifully, we are not tasked with laboring with our own strength. The book of Job teaches about God’s sovereignty over both creation and our own towering circumstances. There we learn the good news that his purposes are “never thwarted.” Those foolish years and bad decisions—deeply regretted and long repented—can’t stymie his good plans or strip you of his fatherly affection.

I’ll summarize our New Year’s hope, with a few verse in the mix. The same God who sets limits to the sea, directs lightning and “put wisdom in the inward parts (Job 38:36)” also chose us, redeems us, and accomplishes his beautiful work in us. Best of all, he provides the strength for us to do everything he wills, “even to your old age (Isaiah 46:4)”. May we all number our days wisely (Psalm 90:12), and may God enable us to redeem our time, accomplishing all those “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10)”.

Happy New Year!

This originally appeared on Restoring Truth.