Last week I was invited to speak to a group of older Church folks who call themselves “Onward Christian Seniors.” I had a wonderful time with t
hem for they are a very lovely group. In preparing to speak I read quite a lot of information about the demographic statistics on our aging population. Wow! The stats are very impressive. We now have 40,000 Americans who are ninety or older and some predict this number will grow to one million by the year 2080. Think about it. In 1900 the average combined life span for women and men in our country was 48 years. Today, it’s 78 years. It sure doesn’t take a mathematician to know that the boomers (babies born after WW2, typically between 1946-1964) are beginning to muck up all the categories because there’s so many of us (76 million)!
Yes,
that’s right. Us! I’m one of them. I’m sort of a fringe boomer, born in 1946, therefore, it’s like I’ve got one foot in the prior generation and one in the boomer lot that brought us the 1960’s revolution. Don’t you think it’s somewhat weird when people don’t know they are a part of something so monumental that it has many government officials losing sleep over it? But, that’s always the way it has been for me. I found some really good jokes for my opening last week but it finally dawned on me, they were about ME!
Many years ago my wife and I were part of a Church family that reorganized the Bible study program. We were not closely involved in the reorganization; therefore, when we received our new class selection we nearly fainted. Hello? We had been notified officially that we were no longer in the young ‘marrieds’ class. How shocking. It reminds me of a friend who was very premature gray and we always enjoyed a good laugh when he was offered a senior’s discount. But when it began to happen to us, it wasn’t the least bit funny!
This doesn’t mean I am unaware that time is slipping away and I will confess to keeping up more with retirement options at this stage in my life. But I’m talking about a mindset. I didn’t realize I was part of this category becaus
e my focus is on being who God wants me to be each and every day (that my friend is a fulltime job and then some). I am very much aware that older people are one of the most marginalized segments in our society but I will tell you what I told the group last week. Every one of us are exactly who God says we are, and we can do what He says we can do, and He has a plan and purpose for each of us. Society may say our time has come and gone but what does God say? Even our Church might view us as less able to contribute, but what does God say?
Read THE BOOK for yourself. God is no respecter of persons. Throughout time He has used people of different ages including many very old folks to accomplish His purposes. If you do read, one of the threads is unmistakable, that would be God’s perspective on how wise and faithful people of age should be the most revered and the most influential within His family of believers. The fact that we have it completely backwards does not change the truth! There are so many biblical examples it’s hard to know which one is best. But I’ll share one that really intrigues me.
Many Bi
ble scholars believe the Apostle John was very elderly when God inspired him to pen his Gospel, his three letters or epistles, and The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Some believe he was in his late eighties or early nineties whenever this inspired text came gushing forth from his heart. Just think about it. We have a world today given over to fortune, fame, celebrity, and youth. But people are still totally knocked down by John’s writings, especially the prophetic visions contained in The Revelation. It has become a billion dollar business as people seek after novels, stories, music, movies, and attend conferences and seminars, trying to grasp the meaning of John’s words.
Somehow I find it ironic that a culture that has little appreciation for older people would be flipping out over the 2,000-year-old words of a ninety year old man. He was the last writer of the New Testament era. What is really sad is how people fail to see that the Bible contains much more than just fantastic images about the future. It contains words to live by each and every day and those words
tell us that God cares about every person regardless of their age, color, nationality, or status in life. This means we should honor those who are older in our society, and especially those who have proven themselves in their walk with God. We should respect them, and seek out their counsel and their input because this is what God tells us to do, period, end of story. This means you can also be nice to me as well! More later…………
hem for they are a very lovely group. In preparing to speak I read quite a lot of information about the demographic statistics on our aging population. Wow! The stats are very impressive. We now have 40,000 Americans who are ninety or older and some predict this number will grow to one million by the year 2080. Think about it. In 1900 the average combined life span for women and men in our country was 48 years. Today, it’s 78 years. It sure doesn’t take a mathematician to know that the boomers (babies born after WW2, typically between 1946-1964) are beginning to muck up all the categories because there’s so many of us (76 million)!Yes,
that’s right. Us! I’m one of them. I’m sort of a fringe boomer, born in 1946, therefore, it’s like I’ve got one foot in the prior generation and one in the boomer lot that brought us the 1960’s revolution. Don’t you think it’s somewhat weird when people don’t know they are a part of something so monumental that it has many government officials losing sleep over it? But, that’s always the way it has been for me. I found some really good jokes for my opening last week but it finally dawned on me, they were about ME!Many years ago my wife and I were part of a Church family that reorganized the Bible study program. We were not closely involved in the reorganization; therefore, when we received our new class selection we nearly fainted. Hello? We had been notified officially that we were no longer in the young ‘marrieds’ class. How shocking. It reminds me of a friend who was very premature gray and we always enjoyed a good laugh when he was offered a senior’s discount. But when it began to happen to us, it wasn’t the least bit funny!
This doesn’t mean I am unaware that time is slipping away and I will confess to keeping up more with retirement options at this stage in my life. But I’m talking about a mindset. I didn’t realize I was part of this category becaus
e my focus is on being who God wants me to be each and every day (that my friend is a fulltime job and then some). I am very much aware that older people are one of the most marginalized segments in our society but I will tell you what I told the group last week. Every one of us are exactly who God says we are, and we can do what He says we can do, and He has a plan and purpose for each of us. Society may say our time has come and gone but what does God say? Even our Church might view us as less able to contribute, but what does God say?Read THE BOOK for yourself. God is no respecter of persons. Throughout time He has used people of different ages including many very old folks to accomplish His purposes. If you do read, one of the threads is unmistakable, that would be God’s perspective on how wise and faithful people of age should be the most revered and the most influential within His family of believers. The fact that we have it completely backwards does not change the truth! There are so many biblical examples it’s hard to know which one is best. But I’ll share one that really intrigues me.
Many Bi
ble scholars believe the Apostle John was very elderly when God inspired him to pen his Gospel, his three letters or epistles, and The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Some believe he was in his late eighties or early nineties whenever this inspired text came gushing forth from his heart. Just think about it. We have a world today given over to fortune, fame, celebrity, and youth. But people are still totally knocked down by John’s writings, especially the prophetic visions contained in The Revelation. It has become a billion dollar business as people seek after novels, stories, music, movies, and attend conferences and seminars, trying to grasp the meaning of John’s words.Somehow I find it ironic that a culture that has little appreciation for older people would be flipping out over the 2,000-year-old words of a ninety year old man. He was the last writer of the New Testament era. What is really sad is how people fail to see that the Bible contains much more than just fantastic images about the future. It contains words to live by each and every day and those words
tell us that God cares about every person regardless of their age, color, nationality, or status in life. This means we should honor those who are older in our society, and especially those who have proven themselves in their walk with God. We should respect them, and seek out their counsel and their input because this is what God tells us to do, period, end of story. This means you can also be nice to me as well! More later…………
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