Going Home: May 2012
Table of Contents
Going Home
The moment we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we begin a journey towards home, our heavenly home to be with our Saviour and God. When we start this journey, we learn that at any moment our Lord may come and give the shout to call us up and escort us home. When we are young with energy and expectations, we hope, that unless the Lord comes, we have time to do and enjoy many things in the present life. For some, life, at first, seems like an adventure. As we grow older and mature spiritually, we realize that some of our youthful ideas and ambitions were, as Paul said, “childish things,” that we grow out of. As we get older, we start to understand the brevity of life and may begin to value more the things which endure. Some may, like Jacob, look back as they near the end of life’s journey and feel that “few and evil have the days of the years of my life been.” Others may say, “I can’t wait to get home,” looking forward with anticipation and not back with regret. But may we learn to enjoy at every stage of life that “right now” can always be a happy and productive time of life for us, and may we be encouraged, knowing that the best is yet to be.
Not Dying - I’m Going to Live
There is a great difference between a doctrine, however true, and the living person of the risen Lord. The heart can never find its home and rest in a doctrine or an inference, however fair or plausible; it must have the full assurance and enjoyment of a love that can never change. The very thought of the possibility of a change would be torment. The changeless love of Christ is the only resting-place of the human heart. Nothing but love will ever satisfy love, but when the heart rests and delights in His love, all fear of falling away or of not persevering to the end is unknown — unfelt. The great thought of the heart is, I am His and He is mine. He has brought me to Himself and fitted me for Himself, as the answer to the desires of His own heart. And now He is satisfied, and I am at rest.
But what am I to be thinking about? My faith? my conversion? my feelings? my doings? my perseverance? No! Surely, I have only to think of Him, look to Him, delight in Him, speak of Him, and speak to Him. The whole of my Christian faith has resulted in the knowledge, the possession and the enjoyment of the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. There is no higher flight of faith than this, and in any lower there is no resting-place. The knowledge of the truth, of course, and, especially, the knowledge of the finished work of Christ are necessary to the knowledge of Himself, through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. But all these are as means to an end — the full knowledge of Himself. We must know the value of His work, before the heart rises into the one desire of knowing Himself. “That I may know Him,” says Paul, and as John says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.” It is the knowledge of His perfect love, a love that has its spring and power in Himself and is above the influence of our failures and shortcomings, that delivers the soul from all fear and fills it with a holy boldness under all circumstances. The feeling is no longer what I am or may be, at some future time, but what He is. Will He ever change? Will His love ever cool down? Can He ever lose His place in heaven? Thus the heart finds perfect rest in His presence, being in Him and one with Him, and a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.
A Closing Scene
As an example, we give in substance the following closing scene:
The doctor was making his usual medical visit. The illness had been long, and many visits had been made, but in this last visit the change was apparent. Turning to a sister who stood in the room, he quietly said, “She is dying.” He was a friend of the family as well as the doctor, and he sympathized with the sorrowing friends. But there was another in the room ready to comfort them all. As the words, “She is dying,” reached her ear, they conveyed no alarm to her soul; all was peace, and making a slight effort to look at her friend, she calmly replied, “Not dying, doctor — I’m going to live. No, not dying; this is living — I’m going to live with Jesus.” And with great presence and composure of mind, she expressed her gratitude to the doctor for all his attention and kindness, and she assured him that she felt he had done all that man could do, and in bidding him farewell, she prayed that God might bless him and bless his family: “May God bless you, doctor, and may He bless your family.” These last words of his patient were more than he could stand; he left the room in a state of the deepest emotion. He returned the next day to find her asleep in Jesus, and he spoke of the blessing he had received.
Her work was now done. Like her Lord and Master, she passed off the scene with hands uplifted in blessing. She had been many years a Christian and had the calm and solid reality of a well-instructed mind. Of course, it was the grace of God and that alone which enabled her to bear such a testimony for the truth and for Christ, but it was the sweet sense of His presence with her in that chamber of suffering and death which filled her whole soul with such peace and rest. He was with her, and that was enough. The strength of His arm, the beams of His countenance, as well as the love of His heart, were all her own. She is absent from the body; she is present with the Lord. She has joined those with Christ above, quietly to wait with them and Him, the day of His coming glory. We shall meet in the morning — that morning of cloudless, eternal joy. Till then may we cease from self, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and seek the blessing of others.
Adapted from
Things New and Old, 16:296
The Best Years
Right down the long years I have held old people in profound and ever-growing reverence, and now that I myself am growing old, reverence has deepened into love. They have crossed the storm-swept sea of life, and, in doing so, have encountered rough winds and swelling tides; they have endured heavy trials and borne many sorrows. But when, in spite of these things, they retain childlike trust in God and continue wholeheartedly to believe that “all things work together for good to them that love [Him],” they become outstanding witnesses of the grace of their Lord.
The Grandeur
“The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Prov. 16:31). When you come to think of it, the greatest things in the universe are old: old mountains, old rivers, old seas, old stars, and this is equally true in the realm of human life.
Since all knowledge, growth, development and character are cumulative, it follows inevitably that, when those who love the Saviour reach life’s eventide, they are:
“Rich in experience that angels might
covet;
Rich in a faith that has grown with
the years.”
They may not have accumulated much of this world’s gear; their names may never have appeared on the scrolls of earthly fame, but since their hearts possess the knowledge-transcending peace of God and heaven’s deep, abounding joy, they never miss those things which are so coveted by men of the world.
The Regrets
There are, however, numbers of our fellow-travelers who dwell but little on the aspect of old age which I have just emphasized. Because of shortcoming, failure and sin, they are obsessed with its regrets.
Indeed, it has been said that, just as anticipation is the gift of the young, so regret is often the possession of the old. Before we go further in our walk and talk, therefore, I desire that every one of us shall face the facts and get rid, once and for all, of the things that occasion misgiving and unrest. Again and again, people have said, “Oh, that I could have the past thirty, forty, fifty years over again. How differently I would live!” But are we quite sure about that? We have seen that the greatest university in life is the school of experience, but since, as Coleridge reminds us, experience is like the stern light of a ship at sea, which enlightens only the track that has been passed over, we could not, even with a fresh start, have the accumulated experience of those years whose failures we so deeply lament. However, there is another and a deeper sense in which we may make a fresh start, and here I come to the theme I most want to emphasize. May God anoint your eyes as you read, for He has a wonderful message to deliver to you.
The Joys
Let us turn to a happier phase of our theme. We have spoken of the regrets of old age; now let us think of its joys.
I begin by quoting the testimony of one who drank deeply of them and whose words have been a blessing to me. He says, “My mouth is full of laughter and my heart is full of joy.” I feel so sorry for folks who do not like to grow old, who are trying all the time to hide the fact that they are growing old, and who are ashamed to tell how old they are. I revel in my years; they enrich me. If God should say to me, “I will let you begin over again, and you may have your youth back once more,” I should say, “Oh, dear Lord, if Thou dost not mind, I prefer to go on growing old.”
I would not exchange the peace of mind, the abiding rest of soul, the measure of wisdom I have gained from the sweet, bitter and perplexing experiences of life, nor the confirmed faith I now have in the moral order of the universe and in the unfailing mercies and love of God for all the bright and uncertain hopes and tumultuous joys of youth. Indeed, I would not!
These are the best years of my life — the sweetest and the most free from anxious care. The way grows brighter; the birds sing sweeter; the winds blow softer; the sun shines more radiantly than ever before. I suppose “my outward man” is perishing, but “my inward man” is being joyously renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16).
The Limitations
Another thing about old age, of which we become increasingly conscious with the passing of the years, is its limitations.
You are no longer equal to the tasks which once you undertook with ease. The eye may be dim, the ear dull, the breath short, the heart faint, the hand unsteady, and the golden bowl of life almost broken. Because these things are in contrast with the long day of usefulness which you enjoyed, you are inclined to be despondent; you feel that you are a burden to others and that you are in their way. Dr. Robert Horton, who, in the zenith of his power, could hold the multitudes spellbound by the magic of his eloquence, suffered in his later years from this very feeling. Congregations did not want to hear him preach; publishers did not want his manuscripts; people did not ask for his counsel.
Yet if we accept our lot with a quiet patience and do not chafe against it, we may find that it is not without its compensations. Indeed, acceptance itself may bring peace. I was talking the other day with a friend about a man whose failing health had compelled him, with much reluctance, to resign an important charge. He began to mend from the day he made up his mind that he could go on no longer. The same holds good where no question of bodily health is involved.
There is another way many are distressed, and that is failure of memory. They frequently find it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to recall the sacred words which they love so well. Listen to some words of One who never forgets. Of the past He says, of His people, “I took them by the hand” (Heb. 8:9), of the present, “I the Lord ... will hold thine hand” (Isa. 42:6), and of the future, “I will never, never, let go your hand” (Heb. 13:5 Weymouth).
The Loneliness
In your long experience of life, you will doubtless have observed that one of the most distressing things about old age is its loneliness.
We become increasingly conscious of this as the years speed over our heads, for, one by one, our loved ones pass from us, until, ultimately, we find ourselves alone. In the case of an ideally happy marriage, the loss of either partner can occasion great sorrow, for always, in the heart of the one who is left, there is the cry for “the touch of the vanished hand and the sound of the voice that is still.”
Our Father is not unmindful of our need of companionship during the days of our years upon the earth, and He has made gracious provision for it. When we examine that provision, we find that, whereas our human friendships are subject to the vicissitudes of time, the divine comradeship is independent of them — that while they may be shattered at any moment, this shall abide till traveling days are done.
Beloved children of God, let us ever remember, as friend after friend departs, that the God who has been there from the beginning is just the same today. He remains (Heb. 1:11), He abides, and “the wilderness and the solitary place” may even yet become the place of “joy and singing.”
The message which comes to us from this chapter of life is contained in Isaiah 46:4: “Even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
Selected from The Best
Is Yet to Be, G. Henderson
The Golden Years
The example of the eighty-year-old Barzillai gives us clues of how to have happy, fruitful golden years. The way he cared for King David when he fled from Jerusalem is a beautiful example of one approaching the time of departure from this world and yet faithfully attentive to the earthly cares of others. Those who know the Lord Jesus as Saviour can look for His imminent return to take all living believers home without dying, while facing the challenge of how to finish the race well, as our minds, bodies and souls wear out. “Indeed we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened; while yet we do not wish to be unclothed, but clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now he that has wrought us for this very thing is God, who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, and know that while present in the body we are absent from the Lord, (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are confident, I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Wherefore also we are zealous, whether present or absent, to be agreeable to Him” (2 Cor. 5:4-9 JND).
Kindness to David
Three special people brought provisions and showed kindness to David when he fled from Jerusalem at the uprising of Absalom (2 Sam. 17:27-29), but of the three only Barzillai is mentioned as following through with the care of David and his family until they were back over Jordan on their way to Jerusalem. “Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man” (2 Sam. 19:32). How touching to see him following through to the end, though he was a very aged man. Being old himself, he was well aware of how hard it was for David to be deprived of his daily needs, so he went all the way from Rogelim to the Jordan along with the king. In response to this kindness, David desired that Barzillai go on to Jerusalem to be with him and that he might feed him there. No doubt a kinship had formed between them during this time, but Barzillai realized he was too old to accept the offer.
David’s Kindness
How could Barzillai graciously decline David’s invitation to be with him? Barzillai proposes to send Chimham, who was likely his son; he would be sent to take his place as a servant to be with David. Along with this suggestion, Barzillai adds these words: “Do to him what shall seem good unto thee.” To this David responded by saying, “Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to thee.” They completely trusted each other, and in regards to doing good to one another, each regarded the other better than himself. It is a remarkable example of serving one another in love. In the course of this conversation David speaks last; his words were, “Whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.” It seems to reflect the thought that in this life he would always be indebted to Barzillai. I would like to think that David’s Son, the Lord Jesus, will make it up and give Barzillai a place near Himself in the coming kingdom.
Three Handicaps of Old Age
Let us notice from their conversation the reasons Barzillai gives for his not being able to go with the king, for it shows how he handled the limitations he had due to his age. “Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear anymore the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?” (2 Sam. 19:34-35). Like the great woman of Shunem, he was content with the Lord’s provision and did not wish for better conditions from the king. Yes, “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim. 6:6). One marvels at how solicitous he was to help the king’s household with provisions, while at the same time ready on his own part to leave those mercies behind. In saying, “How long have I to live,” he showed no craving to make his life last longer; he appeared ready to leave those things behind. He is much like Paul who knew much more of what the future life was like and who, when faced with the issue of staying or leaving, said, “If to live in flesh is my lot, this is for me worth the while: and what I shall choose I cannot tell. But I am pressed by both, having the desire for departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better, but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes; but if to live in flesh is my lot, this is for me worth the while: and what I shall choose I cannot tell. But I am pressed by both, having the desire for departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better, but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes” (Phil. 1:22-24 JND).
The Loss of Discernment
The reasons Barzillai gave for declining to go with David have to do with the limitations of his mind, body and soul. He said to David, “Can I discern between good and evil.” This has to do with the mind; he lacked good discernment. If he went with David, he would have to make new choices which would be difficult for him. Solomon wrote of this difficulty concerning old age in Ecclesiastes 12:5: “The grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home.” As we grow old, little things become a challenge, and it is difficult to discern what is good and what is not; as the mind fails, we become dependent on others. It would not be good for Barzillai to go with David.
As believers in the Lord Jesus, we too may be faced with declining mental alertness, but we have reason not to faint, for “though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
Food for the Body
Barzillai continues with a second reason: “Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink?” His body was no longer capable of appreciating good food and drink, and yet he had been so diligent in providing these things for David and his family in their need. His own incapacity to enjoy such things did not hinder him from providing the same for those who were able to enjoy it. An aged servant of the Lord wrote the following concerning service while waiting for the Lord to take him home:
“When we have settled we are going home, we have to wait here till He calls. He may keep us for service if He does not take us to rest. ... We are His, not our own, and it is a privilege to serve, if better to be gone. I find it a good thing to think of going, and feel my life depends on Him — not simply on age.”
Song for the Soul
The third inability Barzillai spoke of involved his soul — the enjoyment of singing. “Can I hear anymore the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?” This likely refers not only to his inability to enjoy singing for the good of his own soul, but also to his diminished capacity to give expression to his joy in a suitable way before the king, for he added that he did not want to be a burden to his lord the king. What a heart-warming example of one sacrificing his soul for the good of his lord!
We see this same self-sacrificing attitude in Paul when he said, “Holding forth the word of life, so as to be a boast for me in Christ’s day, that I have not run in vain nor labored in vain. But if also I am poured out as a libation on the sacrifice and ministration of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice in common with you all. In like manner do ye also rejoice, and rejoice with me” (Phil. 2:16-18 JND). And farther down in the same book Paul reminds us of how we will receive new bodies, so that our minds and souls may enjoy life with Him in heaven. “We await the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, who shall transform our body of humiliation into conformity to His body of glory, according to the working of the power which He has even to subdue all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:20-21 JND).
The “Olden Years”
In the year 2012 we live close to the time when the Lord will gather His wheat harvest to heaven (Matt. 13:30). The fulfillment of His promise is near: “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). The wheat harvest is different from that of the vine and figs, in that as wheat ripens, it turns golden in color and the plant dies. Fig trees and grape vines do not die when they bear fruit, and thus it will be in the time of millennial blessing on earth; men will live long while bearing fruit. God has chosen us for heavenly blessing, and as wheat dies when it bears fruit, so Christ the grain of wheat died, rose again and ascended into heaven, opening it up for us as our home. Let us look up, “for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). The time of harvest is near; may there be much fruit for the Lord. “Thus shall the entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be richly furnished unto you” (2 Peter 1:11 JND).
Barzillai faced the issues in his old age in the right way, so as to turn his “olden years” into “golden years.” Let us do the same (for we face similar experiences), that when the temporal things fail, we “may be received into the eternal tabernacles” (Luke 16:9 JND). “As [were] all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding” (1 Chron. 29:15). “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ... So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psa. 90:10,12).
D. C. Buchanan
Fruit in Old Age
Psalm 92:14 reminds us that the righteous “shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.”
In Mark’s Gospel there is the account of Jesus’ choosing twelve men to be His disciples. The Bible says, “He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach” (Mark 3:14). Notice that Jesus chose them that they might first be with Him, and then He sent them forth to preach. To be with Him was fellowship; being sent to preach was service. From this we see that fellowship with God is more important than service, because God desires fellowship before service. This may surprise us, but it is God’s order. Fellowship with God is even more important than service for God.
The Christian who is crippled with arthritis to the extent that even the slightest move brings a stabbing pain is obviously very limited in what he can do for the Lord. But what about fellowship? Not only can such a person enjoy fellowship with God, but he can also have even richer fellowship now that he is not pressed for time.
A lady in a nursing home recently said, “Years ago I was so busy raising my family, I hardly had time to sit down and read my Bible as I really ought to have read it. Oh, yes, I often read it with my family. We studied it together; we meditated on it in a rather casual way, but we really did not take time to commune with God as we read the Word of God. We failed in really meditating. But since I have been retired and have time on my hands, I enjoy meditating on the Word of God, and now I have wonderful fellowship with God.” That dear lady is now bringing greater pleasure to the Lord than she was earlier when her time with God was so limited.
Why does God have this special interest in older people? God wants fellowship with Christians, and many people just do not take the time to meditate and fellowship with Him. But older people, many with time on their hands, can enjoy delightful fellowship with the Lord. God enjoys this fellowship with senior citizens who know the Saviour, and this is some of the spiritual fruit that God has been looking and waiting for.
Christian Truth
Caleb
What hindered Caleb and Joshua from being worn out by the trial of the wilderness, which had worn out all their generation? Let Caleb himself answer: “My brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God. ... Lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in ... if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said” (Josh. 14:8,10-12).
Caleb owned that it was a pleasant land which the Lord gave to the children of Israel, and his heart was set upon it. He could discern the difference between that land and Egypt; his treasure was in the land, and there his heart was. On account of the difficulties of the way, others esteemed Egypt preferable to the wilderness, but Caleb esteemed Canaan, with all the difficulty of entering into it, as far more precious than Egypt with present ease but with present bondage also. He had tasted the fruit of Canaan; it was this which made him tread the wilderness with such elastic steps. Besides this, he had the sure word of the Lord’s promise to support him. He knew the certain end unto which his wanderings, in company with others, must lead.
The Object of Desire
For us, God has given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. This was the comfort, strength and establishment of the apostles, as well as of common Christians. Christ Himself, to whom the Spirit ever bears witness, is thus not only the object of faith, but the object of desire also. It is as the object of desire that He is known now, by the earnest of the Spirit. If the Spirit of God shows to us the things which are freely given to us of God, He shows them not as in the distant future, but being Himself the earnest of the inheritance. He now glorifies Jesus, taking of His things and showing them unto us and showing them as ours now in Him, so that we can taste and handle our own blessings.
Grace and Power
“Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God.” It is no presumption to answer to the testimony of God to our own souls. The soul of Caleb rested entirely on the grace and power of God which had caused them to triumph at the Red Sea; the same grace and power could alone lead them into possession of the land. But the very same principle of fully following the Lord, which made him encourage the people to go up and possess the land, would hinder him from going up without the Lord, after He had said, “Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.” Where the Lord was, there was both grace and power; and Caleb had to learn that grace and power for forty years in the wilderness, before being put into actual possession of the very part of the land on which he had trodden with his feet.
The Spirit of God
The Spirit of God is presented to us in direct contrast with the spirit of the world. The spirit of the world is one of restless activity and inquiry, but the Spirit which is of God is the very opposite. The Holy Spirit produces in the saint the spirit of a sound mind. He leads the soul backward to the past and forward to the future. He steadies the soul by leading it to repose on the already accomplished work of Christ on the cross, and from thence He animates the soul, by leading it into the glorious prospect set before it. If Caleb needed to have his heart occupied with Canaan to cheer his spirit in the wilderness, we not only need the earnest of the Spirit for the same purpose, but also to keep us from the seductive power of the spirit of the world. As the earnest, He leads the soul to long to see Christ as He is and to be like Him, and thus, too, He leads in the path of fully following the Lord. To be ever with the Lord is the blessing in prospect, but to have Him ever with us now is the consequent earnest.
“As my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.” He had acted on that strength when He searched the land, and he was ready, at the prime of manhood, to go up and possess it; now, at fourscore and five years, he finds his strength the same. If we attempt the smallest difficulty without regard to this power, we are foiled, but if the greatest obstacle presents itself, through faith in the Lord we prevail. The characteristic form of power now is endurance. The spirit of the world is that of impatience and a desire of grasping some supposed present blessing, but the Spirit of God, being Himself the earnest of certain inheritance, becomes especially the Spirit of power in enabling us patiently to wait for what is ours already. It is thus that, although “our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). The Holy Spirit keeps the eye looking on invisible realities, making them, as it were, more palpable day by day.
From Strength to Strength
It is blessed indeed to see an aged disciple in whom the cravings of the mind for novelty have passed away. He may perhaps have gone through the ordeal of worldly fascination, have found his progress very checkered indeed, disappointment succeeding disappointment, desire dropping off after desire, yet all tending to one thing, to make him know the value of one blessed object, even Jesus. “I have written unto you, fathers,” says John, “because ye have known Him that is from the beginning” (1 John 1:14). What conscious strength there is in thus having a single object, although it is hardly ever practically attained, but through a process of unlearning. But that single object is the one object whom the Spirit of truth has been continually witnessing to in our souls as the great end and center of the eternal counsels of God. This is the strength of old age. In the never-ceasing conflict, when the buoyancy of natural powers ceases, the warfare is carried on by a deeper sense of the power that works in us. Faith lives when the natural faculties are impaired. The soul of the aged disciple is true to Jesus where the powers of memory and recognition fail. He that has “borne ... from the belly” and “carried from the womb” says, “Even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isa. 46:3-4). By the presence of the Holy Spirit, the Father and Son abide now in the soul of the believer; by the presence of the Holy Spirit believers can say, “Our conversation is in heaven.” And thus “those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright” (Psa. 92:13-15). It is when the flesh is thoroughly crushed that we have strength with God and prevail. And thus, even as Caleb, the believer goes from strength to strength, mortifying the deeds of the body through the Spirit, at the same time that the abiding presence of the Spirit is the sure witness of the righteous judgment of God passed on the flesh in the cross of Christ and the Spirit of revelation of heavenly and eternal realities and of present communion with Him.
Christian Friend, 2:298, adapted
Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You
Since the work of Christ on the cross, we are cleansed from the penalty of sin through His blood and saved from the power of sin through His death. Thus Paul makes the statement that “sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14). However, even as believers, sin can and does have dominion over us, if we allow the old sinful self to act. David could pray, “Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me” (Psa. 19:13). To the degree that we allow the sinful self to act, we will be in bondage to it. When we are young (and this applies to both believers and unbelievers), we can keep the sinful nature in check, at least to some degree, by human energy. A man with a violent temper may avoid losing control of himself, while another with immoral tendencies may curb that urge, at least to a large extent, as long as his natural faculties are strong. However, this is not a solution to the problem, for a particularly severe set of adverse circumstances may cause him to lose control. More important, as he gets older and his natural abilities are weakened, he will lose that control. He will find that the sins which he could hold in check in his younger years now have dominion over him. How many times have we seen seniors in a home for the aged, with weakened natural faculties and with difficult personalities and sinful behavior, which cause grief to all with whom they come into contact! On the other hand, what a joy to find those who, having walked with the Lord during their lives, can accept gracefully the limitations imposed by old age!
Examples
We see examples of this in Scripture. It is evident that Isaac had an unjudged weakness for “savory meat, such as I love” (Gen. 27:4), and this led him to love Esau more than Jacob. As an old man, this inclination led him to attempt to give Esau the larger blessing, flying directly in the face of what God has prophesied. Likewise, it is recorded of Eli that he was “an old man, and heavy” (1 Sam. 4:18), and we may gather from this that while he certainly reproved his sons for their behavior, yet he evidently enjoyed eating what they exacted from the people in a wrong way. In a different display of the flesh, it is recorded, “When Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1 Kings 11:4), because of his desire, not only for many wives, but also for women from other nations; both were in direct contravention of the law. In a more positive sense, what a joy it is to read the words of Paul as an older man. He had walked with the Lord all his life, and at the end he could say, “I have combated the good combat, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7 JND).
Unsparing Judgment of Self
So we see that human energy may keep the flesh in check, at least outwardly, while the human energy remains strong. However, God has given us an answer to the problem — an answer that does not merely curb or control those natural desires, but rather deals with the root. I would suggest that the answer is twofold.
First of all, God recognizes that human energy can never ultimately be effective in controlling the old sinful self. The man in Romans 7 tries this and finds to his sorrow that sin is too strong for him. Even in the full vigor of youth, man cannot keep sin under control; he finds that “what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Rom. 7:15). As we get older, we will find that the failure is more blatant and becomes more obvious, not only to ourselves, but to others too. God has seen the end of the first man at the cross. Now, in the death of Christ, we can be made free from sin, and instead of being in bondage to sin, we may become the servants of God. However, this can come about only by an unsparing judging of the flesh in God’s presence and a full confession of the sin before God. As another has said, “We all want to become more like Christ, but often we like ourselves too much to become another man.” We do not realize the truth of what Paul says, “I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Rom. 7:18). If we realized the full ruin of the first man, we would gladly give it up and accept deliverance through Christ.
The Filled Heart
Second, God has given us that which is far better than all the things that “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” go after. Those things, whether the things themselves or the exercise of the sinful self towards them, are all temporary. God has given us an object in His Son that will fill our hearts, and when the heart is filled with Christ, there is no room for the display of the flesh. In enjoying Him, we will be kept from the display of our besetting sins, for His love transcends them all. In “beholding ... the glory of the Lord,” we will be “changed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).
It is a solemn warning to those who are younger, as we realize that the appetites, habits and character traits that are allowed and fostered when we are young will go with us throughout our lives and influence us strongly in old age, should the Lord leave us here. The sins that we do not judge in our younger years will have dominion over us when we get old, and at that time the current of our ways will be so fixed in our minds that it will be very hard, if not impossible, to change. However, in saying this, we do not limit the grace of God, for surely there is always room for repentance and restoration, even after a lifetime of allowing something that God wants us to judge in His presence. How good to walk with the Lord and be found like Moses, in a spiritual sense, of whom it could be said, at the age of 120, that “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deut. 34:7).
W. J. Prost
No Discouragement in Him
There are many other things in this poor world that the enemy of your souls and mine would like very much to have us occupied with. Some of them seem so charming and attractive and worthwhile. Others seem so filled already with disappointment and despair. If he occupies you with the one, you will be terribly downcast. If he occupies you with the other, you’ll be, for a time, very enthused about that which he puts before you. But the time will come, and you know it well, when anything but Christ will bring disappointment. You and I have seen that, beloved. But never, never, never have you, never have I, seen anyone occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ discouraged or disappointed. I just feel when I get to visit some of these dear old folks as though the Lord Himself took me by the hand, took me to the very gates of glory and caused me to stand there with that dear old brother or sister. I looked into a countenance that was filled with joy and hope as the life of expectation was about to be realized. And I looked at the glowing countenance and I said to myself, “Ah, but what a difference to have walked in the sunshine of His love all through those years and see the joy at the end of the journey!” Then perhaps the Lord brings me back to where I am now and says, Don’t forget, that’s what lies at the end of the journey when you and I have the Lord before us.
Two Last-Minute Visits
One day I was visiting in the hospital with a dear sister who was just about home. She couldn’t speak above a whisper, and as I walked toward her, she couldn’t sing. Instead she began to say with just a faint whisper, “So dear, so very dear to God, I cannot dearer be; the love wherewith He loves His Son, such is His love to me.” And then she whispered, “Brother, please sing that at my funeral.” Sure enough, in a matter of hours, she was with the Lord. But I’ll not forget the joy of that expression and the look on her face as she whispered those words.
I walked out of her room and down the hall into the room of another. He also knew the Lord Jesus as his Savior. He also was at the very gate of eternity, but he had no joy whatever. No joy whatever. He had spent his life amassing idols — and he had plenty of them. He was a wealthy man. He was going to leave much behind him. Much did I say? He was going to leave everything behind him. Sad to say, all the things that he had labored for he was about to leave behind. Now he knew where he was going. And I believe without any doubt in my soul that dear man is with Christ.
But as I compared those two last-minute visits, for they were both gone in such a short time, I thought of such verses as these. On the one hand, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Oh beloved friends, without enlarging upon it, I want to repeat it with all my heart. May the result of your spending time with God’s Word be that you and I, young and old, may have before us the person, the unchanging person of our Lord Jesus Christ! His heart is so full of love toward you and me ... a personal love. Remember a verse like this, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” Does that do anything to your heart? If you heard the Lord Jesus speak those very words in your ear, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine,” what would it do to you? Would there be some response? I want to tell you something. If you don’t feel some response, then please don’t try to pretend any longer that you’re a Christian.
A. C. Hayhoe
The Good Fight of Faith
People often say, “Let us not do so-and-so, because if we do, we shall be sorry for it afterward.” But if they said, “This is not worthy of the coming, not worthy of the kingdom,” there would not be the finding of sorrow but the strength of joy in giving things up, saying, “That is of the flesh and not something that will shine in the glory.”
Looking at it as a fight, how few in this day could say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight.” It had been a hard struggle, but Paul’s course was just finished, and he was going home. Many believers now have not that abounding spring of joy at the thought of departing, saying, “Oh! I am going home joyfully; I have had nothing but fighting, and the thorough struggle makes the thought of going home a matter of rejoicing.” If there is not joy, it is because we have not found the wilderness a place for the faithful fight that Paul found it.
G. V. Wigram
This Earthly House
“A house ... eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1).
You tell me I am getting old, but that’s not really so;
The house I live in may be worn, and that, of course, I know;
It’s been in use a good long while and weathered many a gale;
I’m therefore not surprised to find it’s getting somewhat frail.
You tell me I am getting old; you mix my house with me;
You’re looking at the outside — that’s all that most folks see;
The dweller in the little house is young and bright and gay,
Just starting on a life that lasts through long, eternal day.
The color changing of the roof, the windows looking dim,
The walls a bit transparent and getting rather thin,
The foundation’s not so steady as once it used to be,
And that is all that you observe, but it’s not really me.
I patch the old house up a bit to make it last the night,
But soon I shall be flitting to my home of endless light;
I’m going to live forever there; my life goes on; it’s grand!
How can you say I’m getting old? You do not understand.
These few short years can’t make me old; I feel I’m in my youth;
Eternity lies just ahead — full life and joy and truth;
We will not fret to see this house grow shabby day by day,
But look ahead to our new home which never will decay.
I want to be made fit to dwell in that blest house above,
Cleansed in the precious blood of Christ and growing still in love;
The beauty of that glorious home, no words can ever say;
’Tis hidden from these mortal eyes, but kept for us someday.
My house today is ready in the land beyond the sky;
Its architect and builder is my Saviour now on high;
But I rather think He’s leaving the furnishing to me,
So it’s “treasure up in heaven” I must store each day, you see.
B. C. Harris