AGING!

That’s from a family gathering that took place last weekend. Looking at that photo I feel old. I am old! All those kids ….

You see, my father is one of eleven. Just on that side I have 25+ cousins (easy to lose count). And between those 25+ cousins and my only sibling, my generation has begotten close to 45 kids. Yup! This is a BIG family.

(Now you know why I’m single! Somebody’s got to be responsible!)

Anyways, the other five in this photo are a small sample of those 45 in the younger generation. Did I say “younger”? Well …. The two guys pictured (excepting yours faithfully) are married. One is about to be a father. The oldest of the lassies is engaged and will be married in a few months. And all of them, I have bounced on my lap in the decades past (one of them is still perched on my lap). Dear me, am I old, or what!

I am the ancient “uncle.” The old fuddy-duddy who likes bowties. Who treats their acne and warts and other dermatological inconveniences (I take full credit for their wonderful skins!). That’s me. The old guy. Gray hair and all. (Though you have to admit that I have more of the good stuff on my scalp than do some in the next generation.)

But, truth be told, I am old. The old brain with its weary synapses isn’t pushing those neurotransmitters fast enough. Cholesterol rises. Waistlines expand. Joints creak. Eyes squint. Etc.

I am old.

I feel like the Psalmist who declared …

Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
Psalm 71:9

But I was struck by the reason the Psalmist gives for this plea.

O God, You have taught me from my youth,
And I still declare Your wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength
to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
Psalm 71:17–18

Did you catch that? “Until I declare Your strength/power to the succeeding generations. Until I announce You and declare You and display You to the new crop. Until then, O Lord, do not forsake me. Keep me going.” (After that, I suppose, the Psalmist would prefer to go “home.”)

So … we’re here—we old geezers, seniors, mature ones, (or whatever pleasant euphemism takes your fancy)—we’re here to proclaim God to the next generation. To point them to the Almighty. To bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ. To teach them and to model for them what it means to walk with Christ, led by the Spirit.

The righteous man will flourish
like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Planted in the house of the LORD,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
Psalm 92:12–15

There it is again. “To declare the LORD.” No wonder Solomon wrote …

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who is wise wins souls.
Proverbs 11:30

Winning souls—the next generation—with the Gospel; winning souls by moving them towards Christlikeness; winning souls by patterning for them what it means to be godly, and spiritual.

What a solemn responsibility. Let’s get to work!