Psalm 71:14-18
14As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
Philippians 3:12-16
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. 16 Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
Devotional
I have just finished a very long book, which at times was quite engaging and easy to read and at times was quite obtuse and difficult to work through. But, having finished reading it, I felt a sense of joy and accomplishment at its completion. I did it and now I can do something else. I do not need to invest time and energy to the task of reading and processing the book, I am free to seek other engagements.
So too is with discipleship. When we reach old age or perhaps even a sense of maturity, we tell ourselves that we are finished with our faith and responsibilities. After all, we are bound to our homes, how can I work and worship with a community? When we lose our ability to safely drive or even our ability to rise in the morning to attend worship, we get to the point when we tell ourselves, and God, that we are finished.
I have reached the point in my old age when I can dispense with discipleship. I just cannot work and worship any longer and I am done. How can I help when I cannot walk any longer? How can I contribute when I cannot get to church? How can I care for another when I am bound to be cared for by someone else? These are the thoughts and opinions of many who have reached the age in their lives when basic actions are challenging, let alone the challenges of following the commands of Jesus Christ. I am finished because I just can’t anymore.
But many also have the opinion that once a mature or old age is reached, a person is no longer responsible to follow Jesus Christ. I have done my part, I am done. I have sacrificed for God up to this point, I will live for myself now. I have served my time up till now, my time is now my own. I am finished because I just don’t want to do it anymore, I want to do what I want. Vacation here I come. I am finished because I want to retire from working for the Kingdom.
The dilemma with both these positions is that we remove ourselves from being under the authority of God. Like the title of Ayn Rand’s book, we become Atlas who shrugs off his burden of holding up the sky. We shrug off the authority of God to command us. We remove ourselves from being ruled by God and we remove ourselves from the freedom God gives us. We remove ourselves from the Kingdom of God, either because in our estimation we can’t work for the Kingdom anymore, or because we just don’t want to anymore.
The real dilemma is can we really shrug off God and God’s right to rule God’s creation? Do we have the power to match God and force God to bow to our wills? More importantly do we really want to shrug off God in our old age, since death, the last enemy, is closer than ever before? Shouldn’t we want a closer walk with God, the closer we come to the valley of the shadow of death? Can we and should we shrug off God and therefore our discipleship because we have finished with that, either because we must, or because we want to?
The answer is that no you can’t shrug off God, and no you don’t want to shrug off God. In our old age we are closer to God in our discipleship than we were in our youth. Now that the finish line is in sight, cling more to God than in your youth. Your strength fails, but God’s strength increases. Since the Lord of Life who calls you to follow lies not above you in heaven, but before you in time, then even in old age, the journey is not finished. The journey is only finished, when you see Christ Jesus face to face, and until then, Paul has it correct, we do not shrug off God, nor want to, we want to press ever forward to answer the call of Christ until we meet Christ.
This means most concretely that until we are called home or until Christ returns, our responsibilities never cease, it is never finished. Someone will certainly say to me then, well what can I do, when I can’t do much? The answer is what ever you are commanded to by the call of Jesus Christ. Do whatever that is, with the full ability and energy that you have, even if it means doing so from a house you can never leave and with the little energy and health you have. Jesus knows your situation and tailors His command to that, but Jesus also gives you Himself to be able to fulfill it and to fulfill it gloriously. We must simply bear the responsibility to obey the command with everything that we have, even if that everything is meager in our own estimation.
But it also means very concretely that we can never shrug off our responsibilities simply because we want a different life of leisure and relaxation. We cannot retire from our discipleship responsibilities simply because we want to. Jesus is still commanding as Lord and work for God’s Kingdom is commanded to be done. I am not saying we should not take a Sabbath or a Jubilee or take moments for self-care. We cannot care for others if we are empty and derelict ourselves. I am saying we cannot permanently evade our responsibilities from and for Christ to create a retirement life of pleasure and purpose for ourselves. We should not ever retire from our lives in and under Christ.
My friends, I have no doubt that at points in our lives we are forced to admit and adapt to the confines and difficulties of old age and/or maturity. But the one change and adaptation we must never make is the conclusion that our work under Christ Jesus is ever over simply because we can’t contribute in our old age or we don’t want to in retirement. Jesus is ever the approaching Lord who calls us to Himself. If He still commands us, our only free and responsible choice is to obey with everything that we have and everything that we are. Our only choice in old age or in youth or somewhere between them is to press forward to Christ, because Christ is calling us to Himself. We cannot be forced to nor should ever choose to retire from following Jesus Christ. Amen.
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