Coffs Harbour is an Australian town. It is south of Woolgoolga, and north of Nambucca Heads and home to a sixty-one-year-old man who is presently very happy to have a new job…at McDonald’s. Not just any job, but one that took him two years to find. The strange thing, to me, about this situation is not that it took a 61-year-old man two years to find a job, but that he actually considered himself to be ‘old’ during the process. I guess he would say to me, “I didn’t think I was old, either, until people started treating me as if I were.” And that is a fair comment. But how is the Christian to view aging? The real answer is: “Just like any other stage in your Christian walk—with increasing faith, wisdom and passion.” But the older Christian starts with a few advantages: 1. Faith that has been well and truly tested. It has seen the tragedy of fallen saints, but it has also seen mountains moved. Mountains of sin, bitterness, pride, and lust swept away by the saving grace of the Christ. Faith that has inspired generations to seek Jesus and his loving church. 2. Wisdom from God. Lighting the way for those caught in the dark temptations of youth. It is as much lived as it is spoken—pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. And 3. Passion continually recharged by walking in the Spirit. Passion when employing that wealth of experience to help others to negotiate those earlier phases of life. Soldiers of Christ to the end! What happens as Christians age? They get better. Seasoned, sharp and stable. Ever faithful tools in the master builder’s hand. Praise God!
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