People who enter their 60’s are generally looking forward to retirement from work – a typical goal that is sought with gladness, with the anticipation of a happy number of years to do what they want instead of what is required by an employer.
It is important to note that when it comes to the kingdom of God, there is no concept of retirement. As with all other things, if you desire to stop doing what you are doing, stop putting God first, it is an affront to the Creator and unacceptable to Him. Nothing is to come before the Lord.
The concept of righteousness defines the Christian walk through all the stages of his life. With that in mind, consider these words from Psalm 92:
“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (12-15).
You will see from the text that the flourishing of the righteous continues into old age. There are many examples of this in scripture. Moses and Aaron were chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. “And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:7). According to Moses in his prayer (Psalm 90), “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalms 90:10). We understand that many live years longer than 70 or 80 years, but the average life span even today is right there in our nation. Men: 75.8 years; Women: 81.1 years. While health and stamina may not be what they were years before, the wisdom and experience of those who are older are invaluable to the Kingdom of God.
Other examples permeate scripture: Here is a short but far from exhaustive list for your consideration. Joshua and Caleb were the sole survivors of the first generation out of Egypt. Joshua was given the charge of leading the conquest of Canaan during the last 30 or so years of his life. That would have put him about 80 years of age when the land of Canaan was first entered by Israel (cf. Joshua 24:29). At age 85 Caleb pronounced himself ready to fight for Canaan as his vigor was still undiminished (cf. Joshua 14:11). Daniel served God from the time he was young. He was well over eighty when he served a governor of the kingdom of Babylon (cf. Daniel 6:1-3), and received his visions as a prophet of God as recorded in chapters 8-12. He served throughout the time of the Babylonian empire, into the ascendancy of the Medes. The New Testament testifies of the advanced age of Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John (cf. Luke 1:7). Also Simeon and Anna were two older people who bore witness of Jesus when he came to Jerusalem to be circumcised (cf. Luke 2:25-38).
And then there was Paul. He is first introduced as a “young man named Saul” in Acts 7:58. After learning of his conversion in Acts 9, we find that immediately he began his ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ. “Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). His ministry continued unabated throughout his entire life. In Philemon 9 he called himself “Paul, the aged.” This letter was written during his first imprisonment in Rome. At this time Paul was about 60 years old. It might not seem old to us, but Paul had lived an adventurous and difficult life. At his death a few years later he would have been considered an old man by first century standards. He also had an unspecified health challenge during his ministry (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7). None of this slowed the great apostle down. His attitude? “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
We can learn so much from these examples. It is true that the elderly may have less vigor, and perspective certainly changes. But the righteous remain so throughout their lives. Now consider again the phrase from Psalm 92:14, “They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.” The exhortation to bear fruit has no expiration date, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).
The words “fresh” and “flourishing” are interesting. Fresh is from the Hebrew word dâshên and literally indicates “fat, full of oil, or sap” (as in this text). Flourishing, ra??nân, is typically translated “green” and typically refers to a prosperous or flourishing plant. A plant as it ages typically reduces in vigor, and increases in its susceptibility to stress, disease and pests. Doesn’t that sound familiar? But the righteous when they age do not exhibit spiritually what might be present in their physical lives.
We will always need elders in the local church. We will always need the older women to be “teachers of good things” (Titus 2:3). There will always be opportunities to show benevolence, to practice hospitality, to teach and share the message of the gospel to the world. Even when health and abilities decline, most will be able to send cards or spend time on the phone with their brethren, family and friends; exhorting, encouraging and admonishing with love and care. Finally the example of the aged righteous in itself serves as a most wonderful encouragement to the brethren!
