GENERATIONS: PROMISES TO THE FUTURE (Part Four)

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.    Psalms 71:17-18 (NRSV)

Wisdom is with aged men.  With long life is understanding.   Job 12:12 (NASB)

Luke 2:25-38

             

All across the United States, Senior Citizens are making amazing contirbutions at every level of public and private life.   According the the Corporation for National and Community Service, seniors account for one third of the volunteer force, with over 20 million volunteers.  They are volunteering nearly 3 billion hours with a value of $67 billion.  So, it should be of little wonder that our seniors play an important part in the future of the church.

As attested by the evidence of the many volunteer hours older adults contribute, they still care and are still passionate about making a difference.  Rather than observing from the sidelines, even with limitations, I believe most seniors would rather remain actively serving God.  Take Mary, a person from my friend Jan's home church, as an example.

Mary was a widow who was blind and disabled from severe arthritis.  She couldn't get out by herself, and attended church with the help of others.  However, that didn't stop Mary.  Mary was a good listener, a great encourager and had a telephone.  She felt God called her to pray for the needs of others.  People began calling her, and she prayed for them, comforted them, and passed along her wisdom that came from her knowledge of God and her relationship with Christ.  

That's probably one of the most important gifts our older adults bring to the church -- a long life filled with stories of what God has done, how God continues working in their lives and the faith in what God can and will do in the future.  Their stories are treasure troves, rich with the witness of God's strength and power.  Their stories can encourage us and give us hope. 

Luke 2:25-38 is a story of two senior citizens -- Simeon and Anna.  Simeon is described as a "righteous man" which means that even in his old age, he continued to serve God and to serve others.  He and Anna, an eighty-four year old widow, were both what we, today, would call prayer warriors.  They were committed to the cause of God's redemption of Israel through the promised Messiah and served it through faithful prayer.  The day that Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple, God used them as witnesses to the people, that God had not forgotten them.  Hope had arrived; the Messiah had come.

My own grandmother passed long many words of wisdom to me.  "Don't lick a pump handle in the winter," and "Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to a bad end."  The former was good, practical advice, but I still haven't figured out the one about whistling girls.  

The most important wisdom, however, was what she taught through the example her older years -- that through Christ, life was joyful, abundant and fulfilling; even in her early eighties one could still garden, go fishing and serve God, and worship, prayer and Bible study were important at any age.  Through her relationship with me, she shared Christ's love and stories of faith, very much like what I see Christian grandparents doing today.

We, the church, are blessed by our generation of older adults in several ways.  Their wisdom based on their experiences with the power and might of God in their own lives and in the life of the church empower our leadership and provide valuable spring boards for new ideas, new ministry and new solutions.  They continue to serve in valuable ways, and their prayers uphold us.  They encourage us, witness to hope in Christ and are mighty prayer warriors.  For younger adults, they are role models for how to live and serve faithfully in our older years.

As we are blessed by our senior citizens, they are also blessed through their service and ministry. Studies haved shown that volunteering and serving in the church increase physical and mental well-being.  They give people a sense of purpose and meaning as well as greater life satisfaction.

In every age and stage of our lives, God is working in us and through us.  God's call on our generation of older adults is, through their stories, to bear witness to what God has done, how God continues to work in their lives, and what God can and will do.  They represent the past upon which we will build our future as God's people together.