Older Adult Month

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19 NIV

Many people view old age as a “desert time” ~ arid and desolate, barren and lonely, monotonous and unwelcoming. Those words paint a pretty bleak picture of the last years of life. With images such as these, it is no wonder this worldly idea of aging is greeted with dread and disdain. With apprehension, people cling to the false hope of a fountain of youth, for who would want to age into a vast wasteland of meaningless years?

But this is not what God has in mind for our later years.

God’s image of aging and old age is bountiful and beautiful; doing new things, bearing fruit, and striving toward what lies ahead.

“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” Garson Kanin

Fresh and flourishing. Oasis, not desert.

The Biblical vision of aging is a time of finding new meaning and purpose in life; God doing new things in the lives of elders. The Bible is full of stories of older adults answering God’s call to be actively involved in God’s work in the world. Moses and Aaron were in their 80’s when God chose them to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Daniel was also in his ninth decade when God proved His faithfulness by protecting Daniel from harm in the lions’ den. Abram was 100 and his wife, Sarai, 90, when she bore their son, Isaac, and they experienced the joy of a child in their old age. Zacharias and Elizabeth were both well advanced in years when Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist. Simeon and Anna. Paul. And many others.

Stories of God doing a new thing in one’s later years. Stories of new life.

The last part of life is not like the beginning; it is not a repeat of the first half. The second half is a different adventure—deeper, richer, fuller—as new things and new opportunities continue to unfold in our lives. Just like the people of the Bible, we can be called to new experiences and ways to serve in our “old age.” We can walk in the newness of life if we are open to hearing the call.

Walk in the newness of life!

Older Adult Ministry
(800) 323-8039
www.brethren.org/OAM