Christians Don't Retire
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever.
– Psalm 73:26
I have reached the age where aches and pains are a
daily part of life. Are you there yet? If not, know that it’s part of living
long. It reminds us that we are alive. And blessed. Don’t forget the blessed
part.
Most folks dream of retirement. They set it as their
lifetime goal, preparing for that future every step of every day. Some are
blessed to turn that into reality. Others prepare for a day they’ll never see.
The Bible doesn’t talk about retirement. As much as we
like the idea of passing the torch, of letting someone else do the work, of
sitting back and socializing with no responsibilities, well, that’s not what
the Bible says.
We are to teach those who come after us. We are to
lead by example. We are to love those around us. We are to pray without
ceasing. We are to contribute to the world we are in until the day God calls us
home.
We forget that sometimes, don’t we? We forget that this
world is only temporary. We are only passing through. We place so much
importance on today, on ourselves, on what we can see and touch and feel. We
forget that there’s something way more important just ahead.
We don’t walk the journey alone. Christ never, ever,
leaves our side. And, here’s the thing, if we’re still on this earth, He has
something for us to do.
I know a sweet lady who is in her 90s. She rarely
leaves home. She has outlived her husband and child. She has buried her sister
that shared her home for so many years. She lives alone in the country, too
feeble most days to even walk to the mailbox.
Do not feel sorry for her. She would absolutely
admonish anyone for that. Conversations with her are filled with comments about
how blessed she is and how grateful she is and how much she loves Jesus. She
prays without ceasing. She sends cards to those who need encouragement. She
makes phone calls and prays with those in need. She is God’s servant and such a
blessing to all who know her.
There are many of us who know her. There is the couple
who “adopted” her and sees to her basic needs. There are the neighbors who stop
by almost daily to make sure she’s okay. There’s the senior center that
delivers meals. Oh, and her church family that still remembers her though it
has been quite some time since she could worship with them.
She “retired” years ago but that was just a job that
paid the bills. She refuses to retire from God’s service. She’ll tell you quick
that she’ll keep going so long as He has desire to keep her here.
Oh, and did I mention the aches and pains she deals
with on a daily basis? She worked and cared for her mother for years. Her back
never lets her forget that. She struggles sometimes with the hip she broke in a
fall out in the yard several years ago. She chooses not to dwell on things she can’t
change.
I want to be like her one day. If God chooses to have
me live on this earth that long, I want to be someone who prays for and
ministers to those around me every day. I want to remember that this earth is
temporary, as are the aches and pains and hurts that come our way.
It’s easy to get caught up in this world, to forget what’s
really important. Aches and pains remind us that we’re blessed to still be here
serving Jesus in any way we can.
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