Wasting Away, In The Concerns Of Life, Instead Of Golfing
Ed, my old neighbor from Saskatchewan, was frustrated to hear that I have not been golfing in our good weather here in B.C. When he heard that I have been spending extra time gardening, and getting ready for painting, he was sure I am badly misguided. “At your age, you should not spend your limited, time left, in chores, when you could be enjoying the finer things in life,†Ed scolded.
I assured Ed that he could be right, but that I was in good company off the golf course. The greenhouse was packed with other folks picking up bedding plants. Home Depot was standing room only in the paint section with everyone trying to finalize their paint colors.
I call it spring enthusiasm which does not last long. Many of us excitedly start on our gardens and home improvement projects, but those projects quickly become more work and frustration than we figured on. Our enthusiasm wastes away little by little, as we weed and water the garden, and we scrape old paint and find the new color needs two coats. In all the seasons of life: child, youth, married with children, middle-aged, seniors, and the elderly, we need hope beyond our present circumstances and energy level.
As seniors, many of us admit that our bodies reflect our age. Few of us are entirely spared the slow down of our joints, ears, eyes, memory, energy, etc. The health and vitality of our bodies do gradually slip away. Our age group cannot deny everyone ends up dying. For some death will be sooner, and for some later, but our turn is coming with certainty. We teach the truth that our bodies are like tents, that they are not made to last, but are temporary. In the grave, our dead bodies decay and turn to dust.
As Christians, we understand that we are more than a body, a mind, and a will. We have a soul, a spirit of life, a will to live given by God. This spiritual part of us, our soul, is regarded as immortal. Our bodies, minds, and wills may diminish with age, but by faith in Jesus, our souls are renewed day by day. We know Jesus arose from the grave and is alive. Death resounds to the glory of God. Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life for our soul returns to God at death. When Jesus returns from heaven, believers in Christ are united in body and soul with Christ forever.
Each season of life has its reality that keeps passing away. Married with children gradually becomes middle-aged and empty nesters. As seniors who become elderly, we come to the end of our bodies or tents. We know the reality of bodies, wearing out and breaking down, for they were not intended to be permanent. By faith in Jesus, we see the renewing of our souls, day by day, in what is not seen; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of our sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
We know that God will replace our earthly bodies with a building. He will provide us, with a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.
