MID LIFE PASSAGES |
Say, do you know that "America's elderly population is
now growing at an increasing pace? That not too far into the future,
this growth will become rapid. So rapid, in fact, that by the
middle of the next century, it might be completely inaccurate
to think of ourselves as a Nation of the young." I'm
Dennis Finnan, host on the program the World, the Word & You!,
and in a moment we'll talk about it. . .
. . . According to the US Census Bureau's latest statistics, the
population clock of the US stands at 265,484,644 people. And,
the world's population stands at 5,781,456,152. Now we all know
this figure is growing every day, but what most don't know is
that the demographics of age groups is significantly changing.
It tells us that our world is growing older and in the US alone,
the nations population of people 65 or older is expected to double
by the year 2030. Therefore, today I want to talk about "growing
old." But, before I get down to business, let's pause again
and listen to this…
… I opened the broadcast with the statement that "America's
elderly population is now growing at a fast pace. But, not too
far into the future, the growth will become more rapid. So rapid,
in fact, that by the middle of the next century, it might be completely
inaccurate to think of ourselves as a nation of the young"
Now, back when the United States was first formed, the average life expectancy at birth stood at only 35 years. It reached 47 years in 1900, jumped to 68 in 1950, and now stands at 76. This of course is what fuels these statistics. As a result, the elderly population has grown substantially in this century , and between now and the year 2050, it will more than double to 80 million!
The question is how are we handling this? It seems odd that as
a nation everything seems to be centered on youth and staying
young. Yet as the "baby boomer" generation matures,
it will have to face the fact that their youth is fading and the
sunset years are ahead. I've entitled my message "Mid Life
Passages," because that is what a goodly majority are going
through right now. Many have already rapidly cruised through their
twenties and thirties and now are well into their forties realizing
that their youth can never return. For many who have lived for
nothing more than what their youth could bring, great disappointment
faces them. Some in the Hollywood set have been unable to face
the reality of old age and opted for suicide. I believe hundreds,
perhaps thousands more will do likewise, unless they learn to
handle the mid-life passage, especially men who seem to be the
most vulnerable.
Research today shows that when a man reaches his mid-point and
older, he has climbed an imaginary mountain and is ready to survey
his past and evaluate his future. However, his self-assessment
is strongly affected by the nature of the society in which he
lives. For many as the onset of age takes its toll, they are completely
unprepared for the stress and converging forces of age. For instance,
those who have reached 45 years of age begin to first see biological
changes. A man see his youthful stamina and vigor waning, his
muscle tone and for many his hair, all but disappearing. Then
there's a weight shift in the midriff, and worse the sexual drive
and stimulation of youth is like a setting sun. Then there are
the social and psychological changes to be faced. Our world that
lives and thrives on youth no longer offers the unlimited opportunities
to the aging, and if one's reached his fifties, major job shifts,
and corporate downsizing can land him unemployed even into his
retirement years.
Yes, it isn't easy growing old in a world that has little to no
place for those who see the sunset coming. However, no one need
despair. For God has planned old age for everyone, and those who
learn to accept it as God's plan for their lives, can celebrate
life after 50 well into advanced old age, regardless of the losses
sustained in the process. To do this, I'd like to visit perhaps
one of the Bible's most dynamic examples of a man who learned
to accept and utilize his old age. This man is perhaps the most
interesting and delightful individual who crossed the pages of
Old Testament Scripture. He might well be called the "eternal
optimist." Who is he? His name is CALEB, and we can find
him at his address in the Old Testament book of Joshua in chapters
14.
Who is this man Caleb? Well he is an 85 year old octogenarian
whose love of life and his God had not dimmed with age. Here we
find a man who thrived on the opportunities that faced him at
any age. For a summary of the text, we need to know the time period
of this man. Caleb lived during the final days of Israel's conquest
of Canaan. Moses was dead, and Joshua was appointed leader of
this 2-3 million band of people. Here in the Bible, we learn that
God delivered the Canaanites into their hands, for the Israelites
were God's representatives in bringing His judgments against their
rebellion to His laws of life. God warned the Canaanites He would
visit them with vengeance for their centuries old disobedience
to His laws and commands for living in His universe. They refused
to hear God, so great power and might was given to Israel to remove
them from the land.
Now this conquest took almost 40 years. It all began in previous
chapters when God told Moses to choose out 12 spies to go into
the land of Canaan and spy out the areas where they should begin
taking possession as God decreed. The 12 spies went in and came
out forty days later and reported. Now, all of them said it was
a good land, filled with "milk and honey, fields and houses,"
everything any people would want. But then, 10 of the spies also
said, it was foolish to even consider going in. They cried they
would be killed and all die! It was at that point one of the spies,
a young man named Caleb, cried against this negative report. We
read in,
Numbers 13:31-33 (NIV) "But the men who had gone up
with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger
than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad
report about the land they had explored. .."
Numbers 13:30 (NIV) "Then Caleb silenced the people
before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession
of the land, for we can certainly do it.""
As a result of the majority decision, the Israelites refused to
enter, even though young Caleb who was 45 years old and Joshua,
both men trusted God and called the people to follow in faith.
In God's anger against His people, He swore none of them would
ever enter the land in their lifetimes. But to honor the faith
of this one man, Caleb, who stood up to the crowd and gave God
the glory, we read,
Numbers 14:30 (NIV) "Not one of you will enter the
land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb
son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun."
Deuteronomy 1:36 (NIV) "… Caleb son of Jephunneh.
He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land
he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.""
You see, God made a two-fold promise to this young lad. He said
Caleb would see the conquest completed and would not die in battle;
and, he would inherit the land his feet first trod when he spied
out the land. It is here we enter the story in Joshua 14. It
is now time to apportion the conquered land to the tribes of Israel.
At this crowning moment, an eighty-five year old aged man steps
forth and says,
Joshua 14:6-12 (NIV) "…now Caleb son of Jephunneh
the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to
Moses… 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of
the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I
brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my
brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt
with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.
9 So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet
have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children
forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.'
10 "Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive
for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while
Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five
years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent
me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was
then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised
me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there
and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping
me, I will drive them out just as he said.""
Imagine that! Here is a man who might at his age have simply requested
a quiet retirement village to spend his last days, perhaps raising
some flowers with "Miracle Grow,"™ or something
like that. But instead, this man requests to be given the last
outpost of the enemy who were hiding in the hills. Unlike most
elderly who want to talk about past conquests and great moments
in their lives, this man Caleb still wanted to experience them
himself as long as he was able. He said, "I am today,
eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses
sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I
was then." Caleb was ready for one more battle to
finish the work God has called him too. This was not silly pride,
but rather faith claiming God's Word for his life and families
future. Caleb had faith in the presence of God even into his old
age.
Now this story of this geriatric optimist is a lesson to behold,
as millions enter their sunset years. Rather than opt to vegetate
in some quiet retirement village, doing nothing and sitting in
a chair watching the sun rise and fall day after day, we need
to remember life is never over till it is over.
Some years ago, an elderly couple in a church, felt God's call
to leave their retirement and go to Africa to help a mission work
there. They were in reasonable health and with the inner call
of God they proceeded to plan for leaving for three years of service.
They went to their doctor and asked him for final advice healthwise.
In particular, the husband asked if his health would hold out
and what would happen if they got sick and even died? The doctor,
a wise Christian, said these wise words, "You've got to
die somewhere, you might as well do it in faithful service to
the Lord on the field white for harvest, than anywhere."
How true and how appropriate!
Today as millions of people are moving into their elderly years,
what will they do with their lives? Will they buy the lie that
it's all over and seek to do nothing? I've personally witnessed
what happens to those who retire and do nothing but eat, sleep
and rest. Within a few years they simply die. But those who are
Christians who embark on new careers, or service to God at home
or abroad, seem to live long and hard for God even into their
nineties. A survey was taken some time ago and do you know what
they found? The greatest work and accomplishments our world received
and recognized from mankind often occurred in their old age. Here's
just a small example of history's senior citizen's input:
Just think, Moses was 80 when God called him out to do his greatest
work, Michaelangelo was still composing poetry and designing structures
in his 89th year. In fact, he painted the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel on his back on a scaffold near 90! Strauss
was still composing serious music after his 80th birthday.
Philipps Brooks one of the world's greatest preachers was a powerful
figure at 84.Benjamin Franklin did not begin his philosophical
pursuits until 50. He went to France in our country's service
at 78, and wrote his autobiography at over 80. Bacon, Milton,
Tennyson, Von Goethe - all did their finest works in their 60's
to 80's. But perhaps the most challenging to me is the great preacher
John Wesley, who traveled some 250,000 miles in forty years and
preached some 40,000 sermons, wrote over 400 books and learned
ten languages and who at eighty-three was annoyed, that he could
not write more than 15 hours a day without hurting his eyes. Moreover,
at eighty-six he was ashamed he could not preach more than twice
a day. He complained in his diary there was an increasing tendency
to lie in bed until 5:30 am in the morning! Indeed how not to
grow old is more an attitude than a physical reality.
Now I've said all this because we need to be prepared for the
sunset years. They will come by God's grace for us all. The question
is what will we do with them? Will we spend them on ourselves
as the popular bumper sticker often reads on the back of recreational
vehicles that says, "I'm spending my children's inheritance,"
or will we spend our lives and fortunes still doing something
great and good for this world and for God? How can we do it? I
think Caleb the 85 year old dynamic is our example. He never thought
retirement was of the Lord. Oh yes, we grow old, and of course
physically and mentally will do much less as we grow older. But
as long as we are able, and we are a Christian, we must use our
time for God, and give our time for His glory.
To enable us we must avoid debilitating attitudes. We must stop
mourning the loss of our youth. Old age is of God and an important
part of our being prepared for eternity. Yes, I look in a mirror
and no longer see the youthful man I once was in my twenties.
But, now that I'm looking toward my sixties, I will not let the
vision go! To many today just give up and say, "I'm too old!"
History and God's word says they are wrong. Like these great men
of old and our Bible example, the finest hour of your life may
lie ahead in your old age, if you seek to find it and spend your
life for God. Yes indeed, you and I must die somewhere, so as
a good doctor said, may it be in the service of the King.
Evangeline Cory Booth said it well - "It's not how many
years we live, but what we do with them." I'm convinced
that life after 50 is the second half and will prove to be the
better half in spite of any debilities of age and health, as long
as we give what we have to the Lord Jesus Christ. Say friend have
you given what you have? It might be youth? It might be middle
age, it might be old age, God only asks for what you have. Caleb
gave his youth, his middle age and his old age to God, and God
honored him! Caleb said, "give me that mountain," and
God said done, and gave it to him and his family for generations
to follow. Maybe there is a mountain out there you can conquer
for God and glory in your old age? Then by His grace take it.
Consider an exciting career right where you are, by serving God
in your local church, or para-church ministry, Discover as thousands
of elderly are doing that new challenges, ministries and opportunities
await those who are willing to seize them. Those who reach old
age are the ones who have the greatest wisdom, energy and availability
for God's use and glory Don't throw it away on yourself or nothing
at all. For when life is finally over, it will not be our sports
achievements, nor our early careers, or hobbies, nor our leisure
or our money that will be remembered. It will be our unselfish
service and love of God and His people as we prepare for the gates
of glory to open. May God grant you who are aging, a new vision
to see Him afresh, and determine in your heart that the best years
of service for God lie ahead regardless of your age, health, condition
and situation. I close with God's word and encouragement who said,
Isaiah 46:4 (NIV) "Even to your old age and gray
hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and
I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
Isaiah was promised that even when he was old, God had a place
for Him in service to His King. God promised Isaiah that through
even the difficult days of old age, God would not abandon him,
but rather sustain him, carry him and even rescue him in all things.
My, what a great and wonderful God we serve. For even if our health
is gone, and things seem bleak around us God also promises that
our hearts can rejoice. I'm reminded that thousands of years ago
the prophet Habakkuk feeling the pressure of disappointment, even
old age said,
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (TLB) "Even though the fig trees
are all destroyed, and there is neither blossom left nor fruit;
though the olive crops all fail, and the fields lie barren; even
if the flocks die in the fields and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will be happy in the God
of my salvation."
Well friend, that is the finishing note. "I will rejoice
in the God if my salvation." Old age will never be of
value or filled with happiness for those who have not taken Christ
as the Lord and Savior. But for those who call upon the Lord Jesus
to save them from their sins, to be their God and Lord, God promises
even old age will be an exciting time of joy, and no situation,
or experience will rob you of that satisfaction and celebration
of the sunset years. I for one, like Caleb of old, will continue
to say as the years pass by, "Give me that mountain,"
that opportunity, work, new field or place of service and I will
be faithful even unto my old age. I trust you will join me, and
if you're retired already and doing nothing for God, get busy
and prayerfully seek the best to come that awaits all those who
serve the King of Kings till He comes. If we do this the "mid-life
passages" will be smooth sailing and filled with much sunshine
of days till we meet our Lord in glory.
Meanwhile, America's 33 million elderly will continue to grow
as we enter the 21st century. By the year 2030 it will
triple to more than 80 million people. Of these millions are many
Christians who have yet to find and capture their best service
to God and His Church. May God give you a vision to set your goal
for giving your old age to Him. Allow Him to recommission you
and send you forth to your community or the world. Remember, His
promise is for those who are Christ's, "He will never
leave you, He will sustain you, keep you ,and rescue you even
unto your old age." Now that's for me and what comfort
and challenge it brings. May the same be your portion my friend
today and in the days ahead for Jesus sake. Amen.
______________________________________________
GENERAL RESOURCES:
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker,
Dennis L. Finnan(wwyfin@sparc.isl.net), or visit our webpage at [ http://www.isl.net/wwyweb.html ].