THE ELDERLY PEN
OF AN OBESE PREACHER
(My Friends Just call Me Ed, both of 'em!)
I�m a Gettin� Older
A few years back I was editing a bi-monthly newsletter. Sometimes I wasn�t as punctual as I should have been. One of these times I admitted that I�d had a �down� month and had just never gotten around to putting pen to paper - or fingers to word processor. I asked myself why I had let this happen.
My answer had to do with the New Year�s season. The time of year being retrospective, I was looking back and felt, that year at least, the truth of Disraeli�s words:
Youth is a blunder,
Manhood a struggle,
Old age a regret.
Much of the regret, and if I was old back then, what am I now!, lie in the fact that youth is gone. I look at the kids playing basketball and sometimes still think that all I have to do is walk up the street and gather a few friends together so we can run over to the park for a six or seven hour game of hoops.
Well, it ain�t gonna happen! Part of the reason it will not happen is because I could never last for a six or seven hour game of basketball as I did when I was 17 or 18. I couldn�t run that long. But, that is not really the bad part.
The part that hurts is not being able to just go and gather the old gang into a game of basketball is that the old gang is just not there any longer. Everyone has moved on. Some I can no longer find. One boy with whom I grew up (He lived across the street from the time we were four or five years old.) has passed away.
We, that old group, have moved into an age where that is beginning to happen with too much repetition.
These people were more than just friends. They were parts of my life. The loss of them is not just a reminder that life is complicated; life is the victor. Life does what it will to our hopes, our dreams and our realities. The Statler Brothers sang that The Class of �57 Had It�s Dreams. So, too, did the class of �65. And, the class of �75. And so, too does even the current crop.
We did a press run of about one thousand copies of our newsletter each month. Many went to denominational associates. Many went to those who�d signed on at Bible Conferences, and so on. Relatives and friends made up a portion of the mailing list, as did local church members. But, there was a small group that were just names and memories from my own youth. They were friends, professors, sometimes just those that I�d admired from the schools and colleges I�d attended.
I used this as more than just a way to hold on to fond memories. It was a form of self discipline. I found that I was more likely to try to do my best when I realized that those old friends would be reading my words.
I know! That shouldn�t be! After all, just doing a work for Jesus should have been enough to spur me on to do my best. That is what should be. It is to my detriment that I used other than that I simply wanted to please Him as best I could.
It that terrible? Is it bad? Well, I�m going to answer, �Yes and no.� Yes; it is bad because of what I wrote just above. The only reason that I ought to need to do my best is that Jesus Christ died for my sins. He is my Lord. Simply having the possibility to do something for Him should have been initiative enough.
However, the acceptance of my own limitations and weakness was something that I believe to have been healthy. Realizing where it is that Satan can most easily inflict damage in my life, and then working to shore up that area is not all that bad. The wish is there that I were strong enough to not need the armor; but the reality is there that I still do. You know, a little prayer on my part might not have hurt, either!
Another regret of old age is the realization that life is fleeting thing. Sometimes, usually it seems to be in the forties, the realization comes upon us all that we have lived longer - maybe much longer - than we are going to live. The words of Shakespear come to mind:
Life�s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by and idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
What a shock that is to most of us. We suddenly wake up and realize that our dreams were just that - dreams. The former teenager who was a whiz at baseball and always dreamed that he�d try out at a major league camp some day - well, even if his name were Roy Hobbs, and he were a natural, that day is well past: He�s too old to do anything but think about it.
It is a serious change in our life and thought processes. We no longer look at the actuarial tables to plan investments for our financial futures. Instead, we go to the funeral parlor and invest in a �pre need� plan. Of course we can�t bring ourselves to say funeral parlor so we are careful to say slumber room.
That for which we have struggled to gain we now consider the proper disposition of at the time of (We no longer say, in the event of...) our death. Our mortality has become not a possibility, or even a probability, it has become a certainty. This is a radical change that comes to all who survive on this earth.
Isn�t that a bummer?
Remember when that phrase was hip?
Remember when that one was?
How do the unsaved even begin to cope with these realities? Paul realized the truth of this fact when he said, �If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.� (I Corinthians 15:19)
In the late 60's and early 70's there was a popular T.V. and radio preacher (I�ve forgotten his name - isn�t that a picture of fleeting fame!) Who had a catch phrase that went something like - All most of these preachers talk about is pie in the sky, by and by, when I die.� He then said something about wanting to get all he could now. Well, that was roughly thirty years ago. I wonder if his attitude has changed!
I reacted to his rhetoric by preaching often about the great things that Jesus has for us in this life. Jesus offers solace. Jesus offers peace. Jesus offers contentment. Jesus offers a plan for our lives. Jesus offers a reason for living that goes beyond the fact that day follows day. He is wonderful and His gifts to us are greater than words can articulate. He IS wonderful.
But, He also WILL BE wonderful! This is a tremendous reality! Listen to the words of Paul, as he continues:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ�s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. That last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (I Corinthians 15:20-26)
The Truth of Jesus is the antidote for the pain of the present.
We look for that Blessed Hope. We pray, with John the Revelator, �Even so, come, Lord Jesus.� (Revelation 22:20b) But, if He tarry until our day in this mortal coil be past, so be it! He has already defeated death for us.
Now, don�t interpret any of the above to mean that I am anticipating death in a joyous manner. I am not. I do not, really, look forward to being upon that death bed. I do not look forward to that train ride. That apprehension is tempered by the realization that the Next Station will be a pretty good Town in which to LIVE!
Paul, again, made this observation: �But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.� (I Thessalonians 4:12) We often hear this verse used at funeral services. We ask those who are left behind to find solace in these words.
But, more than this, there is a sweet solace for us who are among the living, in these words. As we grow older the truth of the old proverb: �All of life is a preparation for death,� is more clearly seen. But as we grieve, in a sense for our own lost youth, lost opportunities, and friends who have passed from our life, we are cautioned not to grieve as do the heathen - the nonchristian. After all, we have more than just a hope; we have a certainty!
Jesus, Himself, said this:
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father�s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord we know not whiter thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
If our worry be the lost energy and abilities of our youth, that should not be a worry. Paul, again, gave us this insight into the immortal future of the Christian: �For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.� (I Corinthians 15:53)
We may well long for the things, physically, we could do back in our salad days. But, oh!, is there ever the promise of a body not limited by things physical!
A few years back there was a popular model and movie actress of the 60's and 70's who was doing some commercials. She was now fifty-one years old. How did I know? She was doing commercials in which she announced her age and touted some sort of vitamin which she claimed made her feel younger.
We who are bought by the Blood of Jesus Christ are promised more than simply a feeling. We are promised a change! I recently got rid of my old truck. The engine needed extensive work. Suppose I had kept it and had put in a completely new engine. Except for the body damage it would have been like starting out at mile number one again.
That is the promise that God has for those of His Own. We are not going to be simply repaired. We are going to be changed. Even my possible rebuilt engine would have begun to run down from the time it was first used. If we were only to be reconditioned for eternity we would be in no better shape than we now are. But, we are promised an incorruptible existence. Even the body dents are removed - not simply repaired, but removed! Paul says that our mortal will become immortal!
Doesn�t that though excite you! The pundit has said, �Everybody�s talking about Heaven by nobody wants to go there.� I think I�ll wait until God�s appointed time for my reservation, but won�t it be wonderful to be home - in the presence of Christ!
And our friends... Well, sometimes we need to consider their eternal abode as well as our own! How many will we see again in that great day? How many will we not see again in that great day? How many will fail to make the trip because the witness of the Gospel of God failed to reach our lips?
Jawaharial Nehru was speaking of a persons own direction in life when he said, �Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.� But, in things spiritual, the way we play the cards in our game of life, often has a bearing on the eternal fate of another. God has given to us the task of evangelism.
We need to live the Christian life before others so that they would consider the path. We need to witness the New Birth with our lips so that others would understand the One Who is The Way. We need to pray for the salvation of others so that the Holy Spirit would be unleashed in their lives.
I know that not all are comfortable with a spoken witness. Still, there are ways. A tract could be given. A simple, �I thought that it was interesting when the preacher said...,� could be worked into a conversation. If we look for opportunities, and pray for opportunities, the Lord will open opportunities. It will happen.
Prayer. It sounds so easy. ...and it ought to be easy simply because we do it so often! Like any endeavor, the more we practice, the better we become. My first two years in the first college I attended I hung around with a couple of pianists. Neither played simply because they said that there were a musician. They both spent long hours in practice.
Linda took lessons at one point. She never had the time to practice that she needed. Still, she could plunk our a tune. But, it was a chore. She never claimed to be able to play - although she could, to an extent.
The difference? It is the effort and dedication to the task. I doubt if either of my piano playing friends could balance the books at the Labor Temple. Neither, I suspect, could they write a loan policy for a financial institution. Could they understand the complexities of labor negotiations? Or, would they be comfortable organizing a Labor Day Parade? Linda could. And did. Why? She spent long and hard hours working on problems in those areas.
Begin to simply pray for your friends and loved ones. God will hear your feeblest efforts. God will bless you earnest entreaties. Continue. Never wain in your effort.
The great thing is that not only will your prayers reach out for others, they will also draw your own heart closer to the Lord. God has made it so that by being a blessing to others we can gain blessing for ourselves.
I like that!
I mention this with Hebrews 9:23 and 24: �Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: (for he is faithful that promised;) and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works.�
Let us hold fast to our faith - it is our relationship with the Author of the Universe.
Let us provoke one another. Did you ever see two kids provoking one another? They are trying to get a reaction. Now, normally it is a bad reaction for which they are searching, one that will get the other child into some sort of trouble. That is the sin nature at work.
Christians should have our grace nature at work! Provoke your preacher next service! Tell him that you appreciate the work that he does for God! You�ll be surprised what a better preacher he becomes.
Provoke your Sunday School teacher. Provoke your kids. Provoke your parents. Just be out there provoking one another in the Lord! The other person will feel better for it. I wouldn�t be a bit surprised if they even returned the provocation!
Wouldn�t that be nice!
Besides, God said to provoke them. You will be doing His Will. Not a bad plan!