One Minute Wiser Part 2 “Blessed are They” (Traditional)

Somebody somewhere said it. “Growing old is not for the faint of heart.” I suspect it was said by someone old; someone who knew firsthand how hard it can be.

The hardest parts of getting older are losing your friends and loved ones, dealing with mental decline and physical limitations, losing independence, loneliness, isolation, the inability to do what you used to enjoy, feeling irrelevant.

The Bible has a radically different perception of aging. The words used to describe those who have lived a long life are “blessed”, “favored”, “wise”, “respected”.

The list of our ancestors in the Bible who lived long, and faithful lives include:

• Seth – 912 Years Old (Genesis 5:8)
• Adam – 930 Years Old (Genesis 5:4–5)
• Noah – 950 Years Old (Genesis 9:28 – 29)
• Methuselah – 969 Years Old (Genesis 5:21 – 27)

The point of course is not to count the years, but rather to make the years count.

Sadly, in our current culture, we often dismiss, ignore, and marginalize the elderly. We spend billions of dollars on diets, supplements, and surgeries in a vain effort to stay perpetually young. We often treat aging as a disease to be cured instead of a blessing to be received.

“And I will still be carrying you when you are old. Your hair will turn gray, and I will still carry you. I made you, and I will carry you to safety.” Isaiah 46:4