Never too old for God

Are we ever too old?

At our church today we have a senior’s lunch. It is the first such lunch specifically aimed at the older generation with the intention of becoming a regular outreach to those whom secular society deems ‘retired’. It is called “Soup, Sarnies, and Soul Food”, and lunch is soup, sandwiches, and some ‘soul food’. I have the privilege of supplying the ‘soul food’ which is, in reality, intended to be an edifying and encouraging chat for five to ten minutes.

As a ‘pensioner’ myself, I am entitled to ask certain questions about the way the world and governments in general treats older people. We all know and are joyful in our grandparent roles, but this is not what I refer to. Here in the UK, the government and the secular world in general throws all our experience away at 65 and we are thrown without thought or good reason upon life’s “used parts” scrap heap. In that lunch room today there will be 10 to 20 people with the accumulated experience of at least a millennium of life experience.

So my main question to everyone today will be this – Are we too old to serve? Whether it is our families, our community, or God – are we really too old to serve now? Well, we know all about our families where, hopefully, we are still treasured a little bit. We know, too, about the world who had us too old and therefore retired. Now – what about God? Are we really too old to serve Him?

There is a saying that runs – “Working for God doesn’t pay very much but the benefits are out of this world.” Hmmm – ‘Out of this world’ – what does that mean. Well, we all have to die sometime. As Mark Twain once said, “There are only two certain things in life. One is taxes and the other is death.” So what does that mean in the context of working for God? It means quite simply that we can, indeed we are expected, to work for God and His Kingdom until we earn the privilege of our crown of glory and join Him for ever. As many put it, until God takes us home.

I can think of a few who have lasted a long time and are still serving Him in whatever way they can. George Beverley Shea (102), Arthur Burt (100 this year and still travelling and preaching). Dr Billy Graham (92 – a ‘youngster’). We have octogenarians and older in our own church who are wonderful witnesses and testimonies to God in their older age. As scripture says in Joshua 13:1 “ ......... you are old and full of years but there is still much land to be won.” Still much work to be done, people to be won, souls to be saved.

We have a whole generation that still has not heard the Gospel. Now maybe it is not our job to preach the Gospel, but we are called to be witnesses and, by the power of our testimony, we will overcome the spirit of this world and we will win souls to Christ. Our lives speak to the unsaved. We sow seeds into their lives. Maybe someone else will harvest and bring the hearer to salvation, but we need to sow that seed.

Too old for God? Never! There is too much land to be won; far too many lost souls for us to simply abandon them to their unbelief. We “oldies” have a job to do and what a privilege it is to be able to do it.