Remembering Your Creator: Aging Gracefully

Introduction:

We celebrate life and new birth. It is something we celebrate and rejoice in!

We are reminded of birth and life with each passing year and birthday. We celebrate those moments with our families and close loved ones because we recognize the importance of life with those whom we love.

The Scriptures speak about this cycle of life, often picturing life as a walk or a journey. The Word of God speaks about birth, youth, maturity, and being elderly.

The book of Ecclesiastes describes life as vanity and useless—a life that is without God, that is.

However, the intention of the author is to encourage us to remember God and obey Him to give us purpose for all the days of our life.

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Prepare for Old Age

The key to growing old well is to prepare while you are young!

If you think it’s too late for you, you’d be wrong. You’re younger than you will be tomorrow.

Solomon gives three indications of what you can do in your youth to help you for the days of darkness and old age -

Ecclesiastes 11:8–12:1 ESV

8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. 1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;

Rejoice in your youth - v. 9

“It’s a Wonderful Life” and the line “youth is wasted on the wrong people”

He’s not suggesting the ‘YOLO’ idea of just doing whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want anticipating no consequences.

Every decision that we make will be brought into judgment—even the decisions we make while we are young.

Remove vexation from your heart - v. 10

Sorrow, strife, affliction, and vexation should not be stored up in our heart.

Do not let life to cause you to become bitter against God.

Youth will cause you to have life’s difficulties because you will still be learning and experiencing things you’ve never encountered.

Remember your Creator - v. 1

Days will come when life will grow far more difficult with more pain and disappointment.

With each passing day without God, the harder it will be for us to eventually determine to obey Him.

Start serving God now, while you are young.

The best way to prepare for old age is to live your life with joy and gladness, serving the Lord and knowing the judgment to come, removing sorrow from your life, and living for your Creator.

Problems & Benefits of Old Age

One man used to say “this getting old is for the birds.” It was not easy and it wasn’t fun.

Solomon seems to illustrate the life of getting old -

days will become evil and you won’t find satisfaction with them - v. 1

sun, moon, stars all are darkened; every day is cloudy - v. 2

strong men are bent over and weak - v. 3

those who look through the “windows” (eyesight) is dimmed - v. 3

“desire fails” - v. 5

Perhaps this vivid description is heartbreaking, but we probably see how it is all true. It points to the fact that our bodies grow weak and frail; we become old.

This is the way to our eternal home -

Old age is not always pretty; that’s why Solomon reminds us to put our Creator first. When we put God in our perspective and the most challenging days in our lives become our reality, then we live with hope not hopelessness.

The challenges of loneliness and being a widower, losing a spouse or a child, or the difficulties of finding that people don’t listen to us/overlook us, or that we don’t feel valued because we cannot hear what is being spoken in conversation...

Having a failing mind and memory...

Our bodies eventually break down, even to the great people of faith -

David -

Abraham and Sarah were old and past child bearing years -

Elizabeth and Zechariah were old - ,

While aging can be problematic, growing old has its benefits:

You become an example of faith, love, and commitment to God.

Your wisdom, counsel, and understanding becomes invaluable to other believers -

You can be an example of marriage and lifelong commitment -

Examples of people strong in faith while in old age:

Moses -

Caleb -

Simeon -

Anna -

All of these people continued to serve God well into their old age!

Caleb served God for more than 40 years!

Anna is described as a prophetess who may have served nearly all of her life in the temple.

Moses did not start serving God until the last 40 years of his life!

Number Our Days

Moses describes the fleeting nature of life on the earth -

Psalm 90:1–4 NASB95

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. 3 You turn man back into dust And say, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.

God never ceases; He is from everlasting to everlasting - v. 2

Man returns to the dust of the earth - v. 3

Days and years are the same to God - vv. 4-6

Our lives come to an end like a breath/sigh -

Psalm 90:9 ESV

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

Moses says we might have 70-80 good years -

Psalm 90:10 ESV

10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

This is not a guarantee, but a reasonable observation based on the age people reach.

Why should we contemplate life like this? It feels morbid and depressing.

However, Moses says this is the path towards wisdom! -

Psalm 90:12 ESV

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Number your days, give appreciation for the days we have lived, but expect them to draw to a close at some point.

There is an end to our time on the earth.

We must begin to number our days. We tend to dread thinking about death but we celebrate the years we have on the earth. Isn’t that ironic?

Any day that is not spent ready to return to the Lord is a wasted day!

Turn to the Lord for satisfaction in life -

We’ll Fly Away: Final Admonitions

Moses speaks of the fullness of our time on earth and then we will fly away -

There is value and tremendous blessing in growing old.

Learning to put God at the forefront of our lives is the key to growing old in a graceful and loving way.

To those who know anyone older than yourself, treat them with dignity, love, and respect -

The young person will grow old; the old person will return to the dust of the earth. We will all meet the Lord in judgment. We all have the same responsibility to fear God and keep His commandments - ,

Conclusion:

Life is a journey that is taking us to eternity -

Ecclesiastes 12:5 ESV

5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—

That journey might be hard, but it can be eased if we are committed and faithful to the Creator who has saved us.

He will judge us based on how we have lived.

Are you ready to return to the Lord? -

Ecclesiastes 12:8 ESV

8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.