FreeTruth

The way I see it--keeping in mind the secret and oft' surprising purposes of God that determine everything right down to the number of my days (Psalm 139:14; Psalm 90:12), and in no way presuming on anything--I have to figure that the possibilities are pretty good that I'm going to live to be eighty. That's the family history as far back as I can recall. Unless God has a different plan for me (which I gladly submit to in faith) I have to plan on living about four-score years.

Gayline (whose family history suggests more like a four-score and ten scenario) and I were talking about this some time ago and its implications for our lives today. What it means, we realized, is that each of us has a stewardship of a body for eight to nine decades, and it's our task to get the very most out of it that is possible for the glory of God. It means that we've got to treat the body in such a way as to maximize its usefulness for the kingdom for the duration.

If at all possible, as much as lies in me, I have to care for this body adequately so that I will be able to stay as active and vibrant as I can right up to the end. I don't want to mistreat my body in such a way that the final ten years are slowed down and inactive due to my neglect. It's possible that God will slow me down and keep me from full activity right up to the end for reasons known only to Him, but I want to make sure that if I'm slowed, it's not due to my poor stewardship of the body entrusted to me.

I'd love to be like Caleb (Joshua 14:6, 7, 10-12) and Moses (Deuteronomy 34:7) who were going strong even in their old age. I said yesterday that I'd love to die with my Bible in one hand. I'd also love to die with my other hand still on the plow.

For this reason I'm trying to follow the model of guys around me who are taking care to eat well and keep moving. One of my friends who's pushing 60 tells me that he just has to "keep moving". Exercise, running, marathons, all which keep the blood flowing and the body moving are important to him--and it's not because he's got an idolatrous love of life in this world and simply wants to live long. He's deliberately aiming to finish well, and he realizes that that's harder to do if you haven't run well in the care of your body all along the race.

We've got to eat well (not too much, not all the wrong things) and keep moving. As I say, I've benefited immensely from brothers just ahead of me in the journey who've inspired me to take care along the way. So I do my version of my friend's marathon: 12-16 miles per week of hard walking, constant attention to eat less than I want and as close to only what I need as possible, and a daily sufficient amount of sleep.

This way if I live to be eighty, I'll have a much greater chance of being Caleb-like, still taking territory for God and tearing down enemy strongholds in my old age; God-willing of course.

One final thought on all this: those who are fruitful and green in their old age are not those who rely on self or savings or strenuous diet and exercise. They are those who rely on God, pure and simple. Everything else is vanity. God alone keeps us going and keeps us green. Let's always keep it in mind as Jeremiah 17:5-8 and Psalm 92:12-15 tell us to do.

Labels: Change, christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement

You'll remember that I started a series on finishing well a few days back, and it all began with a look at King Uzziah. Uzziah was a man who started well, but then failed to cross the finish line in good form. He fizzled out in his later years, and so we've been trying to think about how we may do better than he.

Along with the other things we've mentioned, I'd like to suggest that in order to finish well we need to go hard after God through instruction from and meditation on His Word. In 2 Chronicles 26:4, 5 we see that Uzziah set his heart to seek God by submitting to instruction in the fear of God and he was blessed as a result. However in later years, in the pride of his heart he became unfaithful (2 Chronicles 26:16)--presumably giving up these very patterns of going hard after God through instruction and godly fear--and all went south from there.

How does one keep on keeping on in the race of faith? It is by staying strong in the Word; by yielding to its instruction every day. The thought reminds of Psalm 1:1-3. There we see that the one who stays in the Word day and night will have unwithering leaves and will prosper all his days.

I was asked recently what my greatest present tense pastoral concern is. I think it is this: I am deeply burdened beyond words with how many of God's people do not have a regular and meaningful devotional life in which they are being instructed in the fear and love of God through the Word of God in consistent quiet times with God. It cannot go well with God's people when they do not get with God daily and hear His Word that teaches them how to fear and love Him more. We pastors talk to people just about every day (it seems) who do not have consistent devotional times with God--and their stunted spiritual growth and and frustrated relational, moral, and ministry lives are the result.

I'm guessing it was 10-15 years ago now when this lesson came home to me with sufficient force to change me (God enabling) for good. My devotional life was okay, but not great. I was in the Word in quiet times with God perhaps 3-4 days out of 7. But the times were brief and superficial. As I considered this, the following words came to mind with life-altering power: "Tim, you can survive on 15 minutes of Bible reading and prayer per day, but you cannot thrive. And you need to thrive."

So by the help of God and the conviction and faith work of the Spirit, I radically altered my course of life. From that point on I knew I had to fundamentally change how I started my days. I cleared my early morning (7:00AM or so) schedule of sermon study and church tasks, started my day even earlier and committed myself to what has normally consisted of a 60-75 minutes long daily early morning season with God in which I simply read God's Word and mingle it with prayer.

I knew I needed to do this consistently and devotionally and worshipfully if my soul was going to thrive. By this means I have been able to read devotionally and personally (with no thoughts about developing preaching material from it) through the whole Bible at least a dozen times, and the New Testament twice that many times, allowing it to instruct me in the love and fear of my God. It shouldn't surprise me that this has been the most joyful and spiritually prosperous time of my life!

I must do this until the day I die. I want to die with a Bible in my hands. I must never stop going hard after God and being instructed in how to fear and love Him more. As soon as I stop, I will stop running well, and I will not finish well.

Psalm 1 makes it clear that as long as I continue to delight in God and His Word daily my leaf will not wither, and I will bear fruit and prosper in soul, even in my old age. I don't know about all of you, but I know this: I have no interest in simply surviving; I want to thrive. To do it I have to set my heart to seek the Lord through His Word. Nothing less will do.

Labels: christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement, Spiritual disciplines

A few more thoughts on finishing well are in order. The next concept that has been working on me a bit as I try to avoid obsolescence and old fogie status is this: Invest much in the younger generation.

This is of course a command from the Lord as texts like Psalm 78:1-8 and 2 Timothy 2:2 and 2 Timothy 3:14-16 would make pretty clear. But that said, I would add that it is this very investment of time, energy, and love that I believe keeps us fresh and connected and able to finish well.

It's energizing being around those who are younger and who are vibrant in faith and in the fear of God. And it's invigorating to be able to pass on to others what God has entrusted to us. We're going to be hearing a lot about this over the next few Sundays, so I'll not add much here.

I'll say only this: By the grace of God I want to be always investing in those younger than me. It'll keep me sharp. It'll keep me fresh. It'll keep me focused. It'll keep me aware that what it is all about is way bigger than, and will be around long after, me.

Folks: find someone youunger than you and (as we're going to hear Sunday) dazzle them with the glory of God. In the process you'll be dazzled and invigorated and thrilled all over again!

Your leaf won't wither and your faith won't fade.


P.S.-as for Peter's question yesterday regarding who the younger leaders are today from which we older guys can learn, I have begun to find them among my children (and other young blood in the church here), in my family of churches (younger guys like Jeff Purswell, Pete Greasley, Jarrod Mellinger, Chris Patton, Steve Cassarino, and others), along with guys like Mark Driscoll. I'm sure there are others that I haven't yet tapped into, but these guys are already having an effect. I'm learning from their models, their passions, their skills, their zeal.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Labels: christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement

Continuing the thoughts of the past couple of days, let me suggest that to finish the race of life well, we also need to think about, and then act on, the following:

We need to plan and prepare not to become obsolete, but to stay intentionally and irresistably relevant. We cannot allow ourselves to get stuck in our old ways or to resist legitimate change. Certainly, we need to be unwilling to compromise truth, but simultaneously we must be very willing to bend and adjust in the way that truth is packaged if we are going to finish well and stay effective in reaching our world.

To finish well, we have to stay useful. And to stay useful we have to stay current and connected. This requires not just a willingness to change, but an actual pursuit of change as a happy way of life. Otherwise we'll become obsolete and will lose our effectiveness to connect to others in our later years. And believe me (I've seen it happen), this obsolescence will lead to paralyzing struggles with ineffectiveness, discouragement, and even anger, despair and unbelief. It can result in us finishing as bitter and disillusioned old fogies.

To this end (among other things that I'll mention) we need to stay close to the godly younger generation. I'm already going after what might be called spiritual prodigies: young Christians who--beyond their years--show that by virtue of study and a true fear of God they are going hard after God and are living effective lives in their generation. Psalm 119:97-104 speaks of a young man who is wiser than the aged because of his meditation on the law of God, and faithful obedience to it.

As I get older, I want to find such younger generation God-fearing and truth-driven believers who are, at least in some areas, at least as wise as me and in some ways even wiser, so that I can hang with them to learn from them and gain grace and skill to finish well.

That's why increasingly I love to listen to my adult children as they keep walking with and growing in the Lord, and I will do this more all the time. That's why I love to ask questions of my younger colleagues in ministry both in my church and in my family of churches. That's why--even though I have some real spiritual reservations about aspects of the style and way of young leaders like Mark Driscoll--I have determined to respect and learn from them, because guys like him have proven to have a wealth of wisdom from which I can glean to help me stay effective even in my old age.

Yes indeed, I must refuse obsolescence by embracing the true wisdom of the young. This will keep me connected and useful until I cross the finish line.

Enough for now.

Labels: christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement

Following up yesterday's post, let me suggest that it is never too early to think about and make plans for finishing well. No matter how young we are and no matter how well or poorly we may feel we're running the race right now, we can find grace to run well from here on out, and to finish the race with grace and victory in Christ.

Here's a bit of how I'm preparing to finish well:
1. I've sensed the need to consciously and firmly renounce retirement (as defined by the world today). I can have no thoughts in my mind (because I can see no hint of the idea in the Bible) of a period of time while still on earth, when I will take it easy. That cannot be a category for me.

2. I've cultivated an understanding of and hope in the Christian's real and only retirement plan: heaven. We will rest and enjoy God's World in all its beauty and glory when we get there. Until then we work for the kingdom. I'm to invest in heaven's retirement plan, and spend and be spent in the meantime in order to maximixe my investments for it.

3. I've kept in mind the biblical teaching that heaven is going to be the new heavens and the new earth--which I take to mean, this earth remade, only better. That means that I do not have to worry about saving up bundles of money and months and years of time for getting lots of travel in or seeing the world before it's too late. Why not? Because I really and truly will have eternity to see all the world in all its glory and beauty. I see little need to be world traveler in my old age, because I will have the eternal age to travel the galaxies. I'm not saying that travel is wrong or that I will do none of it, but I am suggesting that we'd all do well to relinquish any obsessive see-the-world-or-tour-the-country dreams (as any kind of strong desire) in order to free our minds to think about doing the more important things in the last stretch of life.

4. I'm preparing my heart to let go of desires that feed a clinging to this life and a craving for comfort and ease; things like typical grand-daddy desires to be near and to see my grand-children grow up. I'm readying my heart to let my precious little grand-children go with their dads and moms wherever God wants them. I believe that if for the sake of the kingdom, I forsake any claims to gathering my grand-kids around me in my old age, I will receive back one hundred-fold. Plus I will not find myself clinging to demands and expectations for family that create discontentment or distraction in my heart. Besides I am convinced that I will see them grow up from the perfect vantage of heaven when I die.

There are some rather hastily thrown together thoughts. I assure you: they are not hastily or superficially considered (they have been much in mind for a number of years), but they are hastily expressed, since time is short today. More tomorrow.

Labels: christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement

A dear friend of mine (who happens to be on my blogging team, but will remain unnamed,though his name does not begin with P) is a lot older than I am (he's up there in the 53-55 range). Recently he said the following to me: "More and more I want to finish (life) well."

Finishing well is a concept that I first encountered in Scripture some 10-15 years ago. I remember preaching/teaching it a number of times. I also remember thinking as I did: "I hope that as the my years accumulate, I will indeed finish well. I do not want to be one of those who preach such things, but then cop out when it's my turn actually to live them." I was very conscious as a 35 year old of how untested and unproven in my own experience this teaching was.

I am now on the older side of 50, and nearly every day in one way or another I am reminded that I'm in the final third of life . With these added years I'm grateful to be able to report that at least to this point, God has only increased my passion to finish well. I am in fact gaining enthusiasm and faith for godly later years as I continue with God in the work of His kingdom and as I walk side by side with others who are a bit older than me and are showing me that it is possible so to live.

Uzziah was a man who did not finish well. His start was great; his finish was grief. You can read his beginning of life and "ministry" experience in 2 Chronicles 26:4,5, 7,15 and then contrast it with his end of life experience in 2 Chronicles 26:16-21. Here was a man who started well: he did what was right in the Lord's eyes; he feared God and sought God with all his heart; he fought the enemies of God. And in response God helped him and made him strong and great for the kingdom. But when he was strong he became proud. Unfaithfulness set in and the end of the story was full of sorrows.

There's a warning here that we need to hear. We are to end well. But we may be sure that the enemy will do all he can--as will our flesh--to tempt us toward a different end. We will be tempted to pride and self-sufficiency and the flat out carnality of western style retirement with all its comforts and ease and rocking chair relaxation.

Uzziah's proud complacency in 2 Chronicles 26:16 is not unlike the proud complacency of American style retirement plans and lifestyles. Proud of and secure in their accomplishments, too many retirees push the cruise control button and kick back to coast through the sunset years of life. And too many in their mid-to-late 50s are simply grinding out their last few years of labor so they can enjoy the golden years of retirement ease. This is sin.

Friends, we may never coast. Never.

Over the next couple of days I'm going to share a few thoughts that God has taught me in recent years to help me gear up for the later years of life. I hope they will help to immunize us from the ease disease that has infected the majority of 65 and older folks in today's American church, and endangers those of us in our 50s.

Hope you'll tune in.

Labels: christian life, Old(er) Age, Retirement