EMBRACING
AGING
Ecclesiastes
12:1-14
Introduction: I attend a Barnabas
pastor’s support group. Part of our reason for the meeting is to share what’s
going on in our lives and pray for one another. One by one, the pastors began
to share about their bodily aches and pains and how they have to take care of
their unwell spouses.
As
I listened to them, I thought to myself, oh boy, getting old must be tough. It
was my turn to share, I said, my health is good, and I am physically feeling
fit. One of them said, “You are only 54; wait until you reach our age.” I said,
“I better keep up my exercises so that I will continue to remain fit.” I am in
a peculiar stage as a 54-year-old. I am neither young nor old.
That
conversation made me think. Admittedly, I spent half of my life, and how am I
preparing myself for hopefully the other half both physically, emotionally, and
spiritually? How do I embrace aging graciously?
What does the bible say about aging? What are the benefits of aging? Can
we still be significant for God in our old age? Are you afraid of aging?
These
are some of the questions many in our time are afraid to entertain? But the
fact of the matter is whether we like it or not like King David said, “Once I
was young now, I am Old.” The sooner we come to terms with this reality of
life, the better we would be prepared to face our aging process. “Inside every
older person is a younger person wondering what happened.”
- Jennifer Yane. If you live your
life as though you are a perpetual image contestant, your age is eventually
going to horrify you.
To
age, without desperation in today’s society is mastery. One day we wake up, and
it is as if we have aged overnight. In the passage, we read wise king Solomon
advises the young and the old about the facts of life and the process of aging
and the chief end of human beings. To explain the mystery of life, he uses
different images. I title this message: Embracing Aging!
Let me lay down some parameters as
we approach our passage in Ecclesiastes twelfth chapter. The title Ecclesiastes
comes from the Greek and Latin translations of Solomon’s book, which means,
“Preacher.” As suggested in Chapter 1:1, the author of this book was king
Solomon, the son of David. It is the fourth book of poetry in the Bible after
Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. Because of
its poetic nature, the imagery, the metaphors presented in this book can not be
taken literally. However, the essence of their meaning can be applied to real-life
situations.
The
word Vanity means meaningless; it occurs about 35 times in the book, giving way
to what truly matters in life. The main thrust of Ecclesiastes is that all of
life is meaningless, useless, hollow, futile, vain if it is not rightly related
to God. Only when our lives are based on God and His word, they are
worthwhile. With that background, let’s
study our passage.
I. REMEMBER YOUR
CREATOR (Ecc 11: 9-10, 12-1)
11:
9-10, “Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do
everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an
account to God for everything you do. So, refuse to worry, and keep your body
healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless.”
12:1,
“Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him
in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” The verses
in chapter eleven give a lot of scope to young people to enjoy life and do
whatever they want to do, also a warning that they would be brought before God
to give an account of all they did in life.
Chapter
twelve begins with an alternative to the frivolous lifestyle of the youth. It urges young people not to be carried away
in their excitement and forget the One who made them. Instead, resolve to serve
Him with their youthful energy before they enter into an unpleasant old age.
The
Bible has a lot of examples of those who did not throw away their youthful
years and energy but used them in the service of their God. One of them was a
prophet named Jeremiah, who received a mission from God at a very young age,
and this is what he has to say about serving God while you are young. Lam 3:27,
“And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his
discipline.” Who are you serving today? Is it God, the devil, yourself, or the
world? Are you picking up the yoke of God or burdened by the expectations of
this world?
II EMBRACING AGING
(Vs. 2-7)
Aging is a natural process. There
is no getting around it. However, so many of us kick and scream against aging.
Is it because we live in an age-defying culture? Much research is being done,
and products produced to help people prevent, defy, and possibly reverse aging.
When you go through all that trouble, to stay forever young, people don’t
recognize you anymore. So why bother! Why worry and fret. Why can’t we be
authentic and graciously embrace aging?
King
Solomon uses several metaphors such as a dilapidated house, nature, and a
funeral procession to help us embrace the process of aging and our inescapable
eventual death. Again, we don’t take these metaphors literally but look at the
emphasis and the meaning they convey.
Vs.
2, “Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your
old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky.” This verse talks about
the two stages of human life — the bright sunshine stage of the youth, and the
twilight zone of aging.
Vs
3-5, In the Message we have a contemporary explanation on what happens to our
bodies as we age. “In old age, your body no longer serves you so well. Muscles
slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen. The shades are pulled down on the world.
You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt. The hum of the household
fades away. You are wakened now by bird-song. Hikes to the mountains are a
thing of the past.
Even
a stroll down the road has its terrors. Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent
matchstick body. Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for
your funeral.” In verses, 6-7, we find another round of warning for young
people to remember their creator while they are young and various symbols indicate
that finally, death has overtaken us.
“Yes,
remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life
snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed
at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For then, the dust will
return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Whether we
like it or not, these are the facts of life one has to face.
Remember,
life however lovely it may be, is soon over. The body is put back in the same
ground it came from. The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it. Those of
us who perhaps are on the later stage of the journey may be wondering is that
all there is for me or more? Does my life still count? Can I be useful to God,
to the church, and to the society even when I am old? The answer to these questions is a resounding Yes! Beside getting
senior citizens discounts, old age can be more satisfying for those who love
God and continue to serve Him till the end of their lives. God could use the
older people to mentor and disciple the young people.
III. FLOURISHING
IN OLD AGE
The basis for this two-part sermon
was David’s prayer in his old age, where he remembered God’s faithfulness to
those who feared God and sought to do the right thing. Psalm 37:23-26, “The Lord
directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though
they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Once I
was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their
children begging for bread. The godly always give generous loans to others, and
their children are a blessing.”
Developmental
psychologist Bernice Neugarten made a distinction between young-old age and old-old
age. As long as we can do most of what
we want to do, we are young old age. When our health fundamentally changes the
way we live we have entered old-old age.
However the experience of some may be that you are somewhere in between
those categories with various kinds of health problems, such as failing
eyesight or arthritis.
When
you see you are aging, don’t fret. You still have a lot to offer for God’s
Kingdom in this world. As C.S Lewis says, “You are never too old to set a new
goal or dream a new dream.” Our strength in Hope Church is that we have a
number of people who are at the verge of retiring and some have already retired
for quite some time. God is not yet finished with you. He is about to do a new
thing in your life, pay attention to the doors of opportunities He is going to
open up for you. He may ask you to do something you may have never done before.
God
has invested in many of you for a number of years. He has seen your faithful
service to Him through thick and thin of this congregation. He is pleased to
know that you have not given up on your faith in following God when somany of
your contemporaries have turned away. God
is going to use all those years of experience to make you a blessing not only
here in Hope Church, in our community and around the world. Regardless what
stage of life you may be in here is the promise of God for you when you know
him and live according to His will.
Old
age is a blessing from God. You will still flourish in your old age. Psalm 92:
12-14 “But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the
cedars of Lebanon, for they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They
flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age, they will still produce
fruit; they will remain vital and green.” God is saying to you, “I will be your
God throughout your lifetime until your hair is white with age. I made you, and
I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah 46:4 Amen!
