We have lost
touch today with a tremendous resource: our elders, the aged.
Throughout Scripture God emphasizes the wisdom to be gained from
listening to those with the "white hair," those who have grown old in
physical years and spiritual maturity. God Himself goes by the name
"Ancient of Days." There is much to be gained from spending time with
those who have already been "there."
Perhaps the problem is that we don't understand them. We think that because their bodies can no longer do the things we can do in our younger bodies that the person inside the body is somehow incapable of telling us how to live. The truth is that in those bodies are people full of the wisdom of experience and faith. I believe that the older their bodies become, the more complete their souls become as they near going home time. They know all about bodies and what they can and can't do. And what they should and shouldn't do. And where they should and shouldn't go. They, more than anyone else, know the relationship that should exist between the body and the soul.
Another problem we have is their stories. They are always telling us tales we have heard before. That, of course, is natural. The longer someone lives, the more of his or her life is made up of memories. They have more of a past than they do a future. What we should ask ourselves when they start into a story we have heard before is, "Why, with all that they've experienced and learned from life, does this story stand out in their minds. What is the truth they learned from this experience that is so important to them that they want to share it with us again and again?" If in all the years of their living, these are the moments they remember and treasure the most, there must be a great truth for us to hold on to from those stories, don't you think? It's a moment that abides in their soul and spirit. This, they keep trying to tell us who are so dull of hearing, is important. So important that I'll never forget it.
A third problem is that we forget who we are. We are the treasures, the gifts God has given to our parents and the elderly. We are also the "arrows in their quivers" that God has given them to "shoot at the world" with all its hopes and troubles. They aim us at the same targets they themselves were called to hit. They know where the bulls eye is. How often we forget that the commandment "Honor your father and your mother" is followed by a period in the Bible, not a phrase that begins with "unless." The same is true of the commandment to "respect your elders."
I don't know where it is we've gone wrong, even in our churches. (After all, how many Sunday school classes have the elderly mixed in with the rest of the age groups? Does your church have any?) God has given us a "treasure" in the wisdom and godliness of those who have been walking with Him a lot longer than most of us have. They have been "there"; they have found Him "there"; and they deeply desire to teach us of Him and of "there." Next time you find yourself in the presence of the elderly, you would be wise to stop a moment, listen, and become a little wiser yourself. How often in life do you get a chance to do that?
Perhaps the problem is that we don't understand them. We think that because their bodies can no longer do the things we can do in our younger bodies that the person inside the body is somehow incapable of telling us how to live. The truth is that in those bodies are people full of the wisdom of experience and faith. I believe that the older their bodies become, the more complete their souls become as they near going home time. They know all about bodies and what they can and can't do. And what they should and shouldn't do. And where they should and shouldn't go. They, more than anyone else, know the relationship that should exist between the body and the soul.
Another problem we have is their stories. They are always telling us tales we have heard before. That, of course, is natural. The longer someone lives, the more of his or her life is made up of memories. They have more of a past than they do a future. What we should ask ourselves when they start into a story we have heard before is, "Why, with all that they've experienced and learned from life, does this story stand out in their minds. What is the truth they learned from this experience that is so important to them that they want to share it with us again and again?" If in all the years of their living, these are the moments they remember and treasure the most, there must be a great truth for us to hold on to from those stories, don't you think? It's a moment that abides in their soul and spirit. This, they keep trying to tell us who are so dull of hearing, is important. So important that I'll never forget it.
A third problem is that we forget who we are. We are the treasures, the gifts God has given to our parents and the elderly. We are also the "arrows in their quivers" that God has given them to "shoot at the world" with all its hopes and troubles. They aim us at the same targets they themselves were called to hit. They know where the bulls eye is. How often we forget that the commandment "Honor your father and your mother" is followed by a period in the Bible, not a phrase that begins with "unless." The same is true of the commandment to "respect your elders."
I don't know where it is we've gone wrong, even in our churches. (After all, how many Sunday school classes have the elderly mixed in with the rest of the age groups? Does your church have any?) God has given us a "treasure" in the wisdom and godliness of those who have been walking with Him a lot longer than most of us have. They have been "there"; they have found Him "there"; and they deeply desire to teach us of Him and of "there." Next time you find yourself in the presence of the elderly, you would be wise to stop a moment, listen, and become a little wiser yourself. How often in life do you get a chance to do that?
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