Monday; July 10

Charles Swindoll’s book, “Living On The Ragged Edge” is his take on the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. If you have ever powered through Ecclesiastes you realize it is not for the faint of heart. The writer (whom we assume to be Solomon) struggles with the meaning of life. As he gets to the end of the book, he also deals with the end of life. Many of us know about the physical struggles of aging, but in his commentary on Ecclesiastes Swindoll also addresses the emotional aspects of growing older. There are several challenges that come with the “golden years”, but he identifies four of them: a feeling of uselessness at no longer being relevant, a feeling of guilt from opportunities missed, resentment or bitterness over those times we felt wronged and a fear of not only the end of life on this earth, but also of our eternal future. Growing older can be tough, but thankfully, we don’t have to do it alone. While we often encourage the young people to choose God, the presence of the Lord in our life can pay benefits as we age. We don’t have to face the frailties of life alone – God, the Ageless One, has promised to be with us in this life and throughout eternity. Solomon’s father, David, reminds us, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22).

Let’s allow God to comfort us. We can’t stop the aging process but He can bring peace into it for us.

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more