Thought for Today
Genesis 5:27 Thus all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years; and he died.
Daniel 2:20 Daniel said: "Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his.
Luke 3:23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
One of my favorite scenes from motion pictures comes from the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. In one scene, the character played by Kathy Bates has a parking lot encounter with 2 younger women, an altercation over a parking space. When the younger women swoop in and park in the spot her character was patiently waiting for they exit their car and tell her, “Face it, lady, we’re younger and faster,” as they walk toward the grocery store. She begins to ram their car with her own; and, as they react in horror, she replies to them, “Face it, girls, I’m older and I have more insurance.”
This morning, I am thinking about the eternal issue of youth and vigor versus age and wisdom. I remember the impatience of my youth. I remember thinking about the age limits for operating a car, for voting, for legally buying or drinking alcohol. When I was younger, we could get an unrestricted drivers license at 15. Voting and drinking legally required waiting until we were 21. It seemed in my youth to be totally unreasonable that I was subject to the military draft before I had any voice in electing the people who could decide my risk of going to war.
I have been on both sides of the phenomenon common to most parents, the fact that teenagers believe they know everything and their parents are totally clueless. I remember my own amazement at how wise my parents had become by the time I was in my mid-twenties. Later, I witnessed the same thing occur with our own children. The eternal issue of youth and vigor versus age and wisdom.
Of course, terms such as youth and age are relative. At one time in my life, reaching the age of 21 seemed like an eternity in the future. Now, 21 seems like an eternity in the past.
When we read the Bible, especially the Patriarchal narratives in Genesis, the ages listed for those patriarchs seem highly suspect. How could Methuselah live nine hundred sixty-nine years? Certainly there must have been a misinterpretation, some sort of slip-of-the-pen! All of the ages attributed to the patriarchs seem equally improbable. Even the reputed ages of Abraham and Sarah at the birth of their son Isaac seem unbelievable. I have read various attempts to explain away the improbability, claims that the original Hebrew word was sometimes used to imply seasons or some other metric of time. Others have suggested that our ancestors-in-the-faith attributed advanced ages as signs of righteousness and of God’s approval of the individual. The argument is that longevity was ascribed to those individuals as a sign of God’s special favor.
Which is preferable, the strength and vigor of youth or the knowledge and wisdom of age? My answer probably would vary depending on my age when asked. So too would my understanding of and agreement with those words Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.”
Now, I am older; I do have more insurance. I cannot imagine being in the mindset of Kathy Bates character in that delightful movie. But, I do enjoy the knowledge and the wisdom I have accumulated over my lifetime. I am no longer “about thirty years old,” but a large part of my knowledge and wisdom does come from Jesus who was “when he began his work.” There does not have to be an eternal issue of youth and vigor versus age and wisdom. Christians come in all ages, all degrees of knowledge and wisdom. But all Christians follow the Son of God, Jesus, the Christ. All Christians know that “Ephesians 2:8 by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Stay safe, have faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray