An elderly friend once pointed out a lady who she had known since childhood. The lady, then in her twilight years, was driving her car. In the car with her were three men, all looking frail. My friend said that one of the men was the father of her children, another her husband, and the last was the man that she had left her husband for.
Strangely, the scene did not surprise me. I could just as easily have imagined the same four individuals driving together in their youth. Then they would have been young, beautiful, and full of hopes and dreams.
Despite the lifetime of fractured relationships represented in that car, who would have guessed that they would all see out their days as the-only-friends-they-had-left? Given an opportunity to do their lives over again, I’m sure that they would have made better choices – for the good of all.
It has been wisely said, “Old age is a luxury many will never enjoy.”
Most of us will probably see our eightieth birthdays in reasonable health. Whatever the content of those years, there won’t be anything that we can do to change it. That which was blessed will continue to bless, and that which was cursed, will continue to curse. We can but pray that God causes all things to work together for good—despite ourselves.
Having reached the border of old age, I have concluded that a man can no longer see the future through youthful eyes.
However, I believe that the best years of a Christian are always ahead. The body may slow down, but the eyes of faith sharpen to the true needs of the souls of others. And it’s a time to invest “all that is left” in the welfare of those souls.
I have often said that it was the old people in the church who inspired me most in my Christian youth. I know now that it was because they had walked beside Jesus for a very long time.
I want to be one of those people, so I had better start now!
John Staiger
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