Nearing Home - Billy Graham [19]
One day you may not be able to do everything you once did or everything you would like to do. Instead of feeling guilty or frustrated or resentful, however, thank God that you can still do some things—and make it your goal to do them faithfully and do them well. Commit your time—and your whole self—to Jesus Christ, and seek to do His will no matter what comes your way.
NEARING HOME WITH HOPE
This principle is what Jesus was explaining to Peter shortly before He ascended to Heaven. The dialogue between Peter and his Lord is one of the most direct yet tender exchanges in the Gospels. Jesus asked Peter, “Do you truly love me?” Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep. . . . I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (John 21:16–18).
Jesus was predicting Peter’s death, which would occur some forty years later. Peter recalled the conversation when he wrote, “I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things” (2 Peter 1:13–15).
In the face of brutal death, this old and faithful follower of Jesus was doing what Christ commanded: care for others. While Peter was preparing to depart his earthly life, he did not back down in reminding others what they should remember long after he was gone. What were these things? Peter had just finished telling them: “Add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5–8).
Peter did not wallow in self-pity but immersed himself in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, a phrase repeated multiple times in the eight short chapters of 1 and 2 Peter.
You may still be an active senior adult, or you may be riddled with aches and confined to bed, but you can still be a productive servant of Jesus Christ by filling your mind with the knowledge of Jesus Christ and, as Peter did, impacting those around you with hope: “In keeping with his [Christ’s] promise we are looking forward to a new heaven. . . . So then, dear friends, . . . grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:13, 14, 18).
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CONSIDER THE GOLDEN YEARS
Behold now, I am old, I do not know the day of my death.
—GENESIS 27:2 NKJV
Plan for the golden years. You may get to experience them.
—UNKNOWN
Golden years must have been coined by the young. It is doubtful that anyone over seventy would have described this phase of life with such a symbolic word. Perhaps a compassionate soul kindly slipped a g in front of the word old to ease the ache of reality. After all, the thought of gold brings many grand, but illusive, ideas to mind. “Invest in gold” is a popular advertisement seen on television today. “The golden rule” is encouraged by many but practiced by few, while those who actually demonstrate it also believe that “silence is golden.”
So why are the golden years attributed to the aged? Perhaps it’s because couples who are fortunate to reach their golden anniversary of fifty years are often seventy or older. I remember when Ruth and I celebrated our golden anniversary in 1993. She was quite proud that she could still slip into the wedding gown she had made as a young bride. I was just proud to still be standing beside her.
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