As Christians, our work is never done.  There is no such thing as retirement from God’s work.  Ministry is about loving God and loving others; it’s about being the hands and feet of God in this broken world.  There may come a point when we need to find new ways to be God’s hands and feet which are less physically demanding, but these different ways are just as meaningful. 

With age, comes experience and perspective.  We experience our share of difficulties and, through them, discovered that God is there—faithful– in the midst of hardship and suffering. We can then offer comfort, encouragement and hope to others who are experiencing struggles because of those experiences, and we can pray with and for others.

In “Aging, Spirituality, and Religion”, a wise person says: “I am not afraid any more… because I have been loved enough by God; he has really given me a lot of gifts. There is hope for us all, if we can just quit worrying about ourselves and just let the Lord love us and try to give love back as well… The day that I found out I was lovable was the day that my life was changed.” *  Certainly, we can help others learn that they, too, are lovable and are loved.

Our purpose in life is to help bring about God’s reign and kingdom.  We are to let God’s love and light shine through us.  We are meant to help in God’s work to reconcile and restore all Creation with God.  Our work, as Christians, never ends.

God continues to work in and through us throughout our lives even, or perhaps especially, in our senior years.  Aging may present challenges and physical limitations, but our work continues and, with God’s help, we adapt, finding new ways to be God’s hands and feet in this broken world and point people to God.  Read Psalm 92, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally!

Annie

Today’s Reading: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2092

*Aging, Spirituality, and Reigion: A Handbook, Volume 2, Melvin A. Kimble and Susan H. McFadden, (Augsburg Fortress Press, 2002), p.17.