Our culture is a culture of youth. We are supposed to be well on our way towards accomplishing the goals in our life – to do the great stuff that we are destined to do – sometime before we reach the ordained retirement age of 66. Then, at 66, off we go into the sunset with whatever is left of our Social Security and, at least for some of us, the meager savings we have in our retirement accounts. In my 70’s that has been depressing because I feel that I have accomplished so little.
At the end of his life the Apostle Paul said this about his life and his work. “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (II Timothy 4:5-7)
But I have yet to be poured out. I don’t feel that the time of my departure has come. Maybe our culture is wrong. Maybe the most meaningful years of our lives are still ahead of us – not behind us. Yeah, I know – it is probably too late to think of becoming a professional golfer or winning the Tour de France. But, maybe the best work is yet to come.
Think about Moses. Remember him? At age 40, he went out to accomplish his great mission in life. He failed and decided to relocate to the desert, got married, had a few kids, and lived with his in-laws. I wonder how he felt when, at 80 years of age, he was still herding sheep for his father-in-law. He knew nothing of the great task that God had planned for him. He had been chasing sheep for 40 years when he came across the burning bush, and God gave him a whole new direction for his life. 80 years old – imagine that.
Paul did not stop until he had given all of himself to his call. As long as he lived and breathed, he stayed busy. Moses didn’t retire; he began his life’s work at 80.
Most of us still have a long way to go before we can say we are poured out. We are still trees with a lot of growing to do. We have not finished the race. Maybe the gun has gone off and we are in the last lap. We are tired. Our health is shaky. We forget too easily. I know, growing old is not for sissies. But now is not the time to rest. There is still so much that God has for us to do. When it is time for us to depart, we want to be able to say, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”