Senior Adult Sunday Revisited

Saved By the Bell: The Golden Years


As I mentioned last week, we had the opportunity to celebrate our senior adults in this Sunday morning's service. We had a great time recognizing the committed service that these men and women have offered to the Lord through His church. We recognized a lady who has been a member of our church for 80 years. We recognized several others who have been a part of our church since they were on the "cradle roll" in the 20's and 30's. Seeing their faithfulness gives me hope. I recognize this: the same God who has strengthened their hands for the work of ministry is alive and at work in my life and in yours. If He will use them, then He will use us as well.

As I reflect on the legacy that they've blessed us with, I was reminded of the need to honor these saints. We live in a culture that is increasingly obsessed with youth. We want to do whatever we can to avoid the appearance of age. Even to the point of foolishness, we seek to project an image of youthfulness. The English have a saying for this sort of thing: Mutton dressed as lamb. We fear the coming of old age and fail to respect those who are facing its consequences. In preparation for this week's message, I found this folk tale from the Grimm's collection:

Once there was a little old man. His eyes blinked and his hands trembled; when he ate he clattered the silverware distressingly, missed his mouth with the spoon as often as not, and dribbled a bit of his food on the tablecloth. Now he lived with his married son, having nowhere else to live, and his son's wife didn't like the arrangement. "I can't have this," she said. "It interferes with my right to happiness." So she and her husband took the old man gently but firmly by the arm and led him to the corner of the kitchen. There they set him on a stool and gave him his food in an earthenware bowl. From then on he always ate in the corner, blinking at the table with wistful eyes. One day his hands trembled rather more than usual, and the earthenware bowl fell and broke. "If you are a pig," said the daughter-in-law, "you must eat out of a trough." So they made him a little wooden trough and he got his meals in that. These people had a four-year-old son of whom they were very fond. One evening the young man noticed his boy playing intently with some bits of wood and asked what he was doing. "I'm making a trough," he said, smiling up for approval, "to feed you and Mamma out of when I get big. "The man and his wife looked at each other for a while and didn't say anything. Then they cried a little. They then went to the corner and took the old man by the arm and led him back to the table. They sat him in a comfortable chair and gave him his food on a plate, and from then on nobody ever scolded when he clattered or spilled or broke things.

Let us take great care to treat our elders with love, respect, and honor. Lord willing, I hope to be one of them one day.

That's my view, anyway, from here on N. Wintzell