Where Do You Fit?
Written by Carlton Coon, Sr.
Let me offer a disclaimer: Any observations about aging are suggestive rather than normative. Your life journey is unique.
However, we can have a Biblical perspective on what I will call the Sage age, the last third to fourth of life. The Biblical vantage should be what we aspire to.
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As a pastor and, recently, a student attempting to understand retirement years and beyond, I have found that the best start is to reflect on life from three vantage points:
· My inner man.
· Relationships with others.
· Relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The tools of such an inquiry include:
· Biblical study on what the Autumn of life should be.
· The history of elders in Acts and the Epistles.
· Considering the role those of the Sage age have played in the church over the past hundred years.
· Christian Ethics, including considering where we in the Sage age are in danger of overreaching.
Understanding God
How we understand God is affected by our life experiences. Those who have felt abandoned, harshly judged, or unfairly punished in life see God as a harsh judge who punishes unfairly and is unavailable.
Carlton Coon, Sr., Author
Meanwhile, those who have felt loved, valued, and forgiven in their relationships with others understand God as being loving and forgiving.
In the mid-1980s, Mrs. Thornton allowed me to teach her What the Bible Says . . .,[1] which is my topical Home Bible Study. During the lesson on baptism, she wept as the lesson revealed what the Lord Jesus does with our sins when we have faith and are baptized in His name.
After regaining her composure, Mrs. Thornton said, “I have always seen God as having a belt ready to beat me for my accumulated sins. You have taught me that He instead clears the slate and does not remember my past failures.”
In Mrs. Thornton’s life, she had known violence and abuse. A hand was often raised to slap her. At that time, in her sixties, she understood God as one ready to punish her.
Mrs. Thornton rejoiced when she was later baptized, stating she had never felt so free and clean. She was in the Sage age, and learning, accepting, and believing God’s Word had changed her understanding of God.
Today Can Escape Yesterday
Sadly, some long-time Christians’ view of God is filtered through harsh experiences. They know about Jesus’ mercy, grace, forgiveness, and long-suffering, but what is in their head has never settled in their emotions and will, or as the Bible calls it, their heart.
Faith is necessary to move the truth from your mind to your heart. As taught by James, faith is more than mental assent.
Two behaviors are vehicles to transfer the truth to your heart.
· Speak God’s truth. Thinking God’s truth is good, (Philippians 4:8). Verbalizing God’s truth is better because it is a physical action that claims truth for yourself, (Ephesians 4:15).
· Act on God’s truth. Hebrews 11 is a celebration of faith-based action. Are you saved, but despite being born-again, you continue acting as though you are defeated and lost?
Do guilt, shame, and insecurity about who you are in Christ identify how you see yourself? Your prayer time is spent yet again addressing yesterday’s failures.
If this is the case, understand that Jesus views you differently than you view yourself. Take action. Get your head up, express your praise, and bow before Him in worship.
A Foundation for Healthy Aging
Get God’s truth and perspective in your heart. Act on what you do not always feel.
Something changes when you choose to serve others, (Galatians 5:13) and choose to rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of your salvation, (Habakkuk 3:18).
Your joyful service need not be grand. Little things define us. Sending a handwritten note to a younger person or passing on a book you benefitted from are ways to act out who Jesus says you are.
Such small actions are indicators that you know who you are in Christ.
You have value.
What you do for others has value.
Consistent talk and action that express faith as to who you are in Christ will cause you to think differently about yourself. This behavior is not based on your feelings. You may still feel defeated and insecure, but God’s word says differently. Faith says to act on God’s word.
Calls to Action:
1. Examine your view of God to identify how your past experiences may have shaped your perception of Him. Do you see Him as a harsh judge or a loving Father, and consider how this affects your relationship with Him?
2. Practice making verbal declarations of God's truths about your identity in Christ. To get into this flow, write three affirming Bible verses on a card and carry them with you. Several times daily, speak these truths aloud. It will strengthen your faith and transform your heart.
3. Start a simple service initiative by sending one handwritten note of encouragement each week to someone younger. The handwritten note puts your identity in Christ into action.
[1] What the Bible Says . . ., consists of seven topical lessons about salvation. It includes teacher notes, suggestions about how to effectively teach the material, student handouts, and review sheets. Learn more at CarltonCoon.com
This blog is part of Saging Well - the Best is Yet to Be written by Carlton L. Coon Sr. Order the book as an eBook or print at Amazon. 20% of the revenue is donated to UPCI Sages.