Life Cycles - Martin Wiles

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT

The days of getting up and being ready in fifteen minutes have vanished.

Although I’m in relatively good health, my life cycle has changed. This fact dawned on me one morning when it seemed I simply could not get ready. 

A diagnosis of glaucoma and dry eye disease means I must use three types of drops daily. One twice a day, another once a day, and still another several times a day. Keeping up with the schedule taxes my brain. 

Patches of extremely dry skin also resulted in a prescription cream that must be applied twice daily for two weeks, with two weeks off before repeating the treatment. 

And then there are the pills I swallow. One to control my acid reflux. A daily aspirin because I’m over fifty, along with the daily vitamin to make sure I get what I might not through food. Add a beta blocker to regulate my Tachycardia. Finishing off the list is another over-the-counter acid reducer to help the prescription-strength one. Of course, there are more for other age-related issues, but you get the picture.  

I shouldn’t complain—and usually don’t. Others are worse off than me. My wife has a pouch full of medicine she must take daily to deal with health issues far more severe than mine. And those with rare diseases or other life-altering medical issues can top her—such as my brother who has Parkinson’s. 

Reading what Paul says is comforting—and should be for all who have reached the later life cycle or are suffering with life-altering medical challenges. I may not spend as much time as some do dolling up certain parts of my body or toning my muscles, but I don’t neglect it through unhealthy habits either. Regardless, my body will do what bodies do: age, change, and eventually die. 

We can’t keep these bodies alive, but God can—and will. Just not in their present form. When we die, or when Christ returns, our bodies will be transformed and fitted for our eternal home. A home where no pain, sickness, disease, medicine, or death will inhabit. Nor will there be any more life cycles.

Enjoy the life cycles—despite the changes they bring. They mean you are one step closer to eternity. 

Father, give me grace to endure the changes I must face as I gracefully age. 

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Age Doesn’t Matter - Martin Wiles

Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. Psalm 92:14 NLT

I couldn’t imagine what a sixty-year-old person was doing in my college classroom. I soon found that age doesn’t matter. 

 

Eight years after graduating high school—and finally succumbing to God’s call to enter full-time ministry—I enrolled in college. I wasn’t excited about attending a traditional college where most of my classmates would be newly graduated high school students. Fortunately, I found a college that accommodated people in my age category who were also entering ministry. 

But when a retirement-age student walked into the classroom, I couldn’t help but wonder why God would call someone that late in life. For a person in their late 20s—as I was—a person in their late 60s was near dead. Now, that I am near that age, however, I no longer hold the same opinion. 

Age Is Relative 

 

Attending college with some older students taught me the truth of what the psalmist wrote. Age is relative and doesn’t keep anyone out of God’s service. Even now, I have a Canadian friend who is in her 80s and in a nursing home, but still writing for God.

God Has No Requirement Age

 

In God’s work, there is no retirement age. Some places of employment might require us to retire at a certain age or after we’ve worked a certain number of years with their company, but God never will. He offers the best retirement plan, but he’ll never ask us to retire early, or at all.

 

Age brings certain limitations, but it never takes away all possibility of serving God. He always has something we can do that will trump any physical limitations age may place on us. If nothing else, we can pray or send a card of encouragement to someone. We could even find someone to mentor in the faith.

 

I plan to eat right (well, most of the time) and stay in good shape so I can serve God with vigor for as long as possible. Then when it comes time to enjoy his retirement plan, I can die satisfied—knowing I did all I could for as long as I could.

 

Don’t let age—along with its limitations and ailments—keep you from serving God.

Father, thank you for the years you give me to serve you. Encourage me to give you my all until I take my final breath.

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Lifelong Productivity - Solace from the Psalms - Martin Wiles

For thousands of years, people have found comfort in the Psalms. No matter what emotion you are experiencing or fight you're facing, the psalms have something important to say. For the next little while, Love Lines from God will feature, "Solace from the Psalms." We hope you enjoy. And please share them with a friend. 

They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Psalm 1:3 NLT

Spring. Trees budding. Flowers blooming. Freshly plowed fields embedded with fruit-bearing seed. Youthful vigor. The sun’s warming rays. Life at its finest. Invincibility. 

Summer. Unbearable heat. Incipient fruit dangling from trees awaiting fall. Busyness. Too much to do and too little time to do it in. Misplaced priorities. Mislaid focus. Life is good.

Fall. Harvest. Leaves showing their true colors, falling and littering the ground, leaving behind bountiful fruit dangling on cringing limbs. Life slows. Priorities are reconsidered. Children are grown and gone. Aches and pains. 

Winter. Barrenness. Empty fields and gardens. Bare trees. Brown grass. Ominous winds and diving temperatures. Snow and ice. Glowing fireplaces. Sickness. Disease. Dying spouses. Dying friends. Dying relatives. Life grinds to a halt.

The seasons of life come and go with rapid haste and a mind of their own, but the psalmist proposes the possibility of fruit at each stage.

Lifelong productivity is attainable by engaging in what produces fruit that never dies: God’s Word. Sinking our roots into its life-giving principles yields fruit from youth until death. They remind us about what’s spiritually healthy and unhealthy. The wisdom that guides us through the changing seasons and their accompanying challenges is uncovered.

As winter approaches, poor health may prevent us from doing all we once did, but even then we can produce fruit for God’s kingdom through intercessory prayer and by using technology’s advancements.  A press of the “enter” key allows us to touch the world.

No matter what season you’re living in, bear fruit for God.

Max Lucado wrote; “If we live our lives this way, then we can…enter into our final years with the assurance of knowing that life was well spent and that heaven is but a wink away” (On the Anvil p. 163).

Tweetable: Are you still bearing fruit for God?

Prayer: Lord, You have created us to bear fruit throughout every season of life.

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Did I Forget Something? - Martin Wiles

Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. Psalm 92:14 NLT

“I brought my glasses just in case. I once would not have done that,” my wife remarked.

As we drove out of our driveway on our way for a day on the Great Smokey Mountain Railway, my wife told me about bringing along her glasses. Most of the time she wears contacts. This time, she decided to bring both.

“You’re getting old,” I said jokingly.

I knew because I do similar things. When I was younger, I never thought about what I might need, just what I would need. As I’ve gotten older, I find myself fearing I won’t have something. Instead of a small toiletry bag, I now carry an old Samsonite case that allows me to take everything I might need—which is three times as much as what I once carried. I don’t want to make a trip to Walmart and buy what I already have at home, so I carry almost everything with me.

“Everything but the kitchen sink” has taken on new meaning. But now I have company. My wife feels my pain and experiences similar aging pains.

In speaking of the aged, the psalmist said they would still produce fruit in old age. Good to know, but I might carry a suitcase with me while I do. A suitcase filled with pain medicine, in case I have a headache; antibiotic cream, in case I cut myself; Benadryl, in case I have an itch; and extra toilet paper, in case the hotel’s is rough and scratchy.

Of all the things I don’t want to forget, salvation is one. Without it, I won’t make the final leg of the trip—the one leading to heaven. So I have to take along repentance and confession of my sins, as badly as I may hate to admit them.

I also don’t want to forget trust or faith. God says I must walk by it. I can’t experience Him with my senses, so faith has to suffice. If I forget it, I leave God behind. Seeing isn’t believing when it comes to a relationship with Him.

And it always helps when I don’t leave kindness behind. The world needs more love. It always has, and it always will. People respond better when I give it—and I’m happier too.

Don’t let your age cause you to forget the important things in life.

Tweetable: Is age creeping up on you?

Prayer: Father, hold us closely as we age so we don’t forget to make You and others a daily part of our lives. 

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Aging Gracefully - Martin Wiles

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4 NLT

I look around the room and suddenly realize: I’m old enough to be their grandfather.

My middle schoolers love for me to tell them stories of how things were when I was their age. As I perch on my stool and tell them the stories and watch their brains try to wrap around a world they’ve never experienced, I suddenly realize I’m old enough to be their grandfather. The scenario is déjà vu for I can remember my grandparents doing the same thing with me.

I’m not afraid of growing old. In fact, it’s fun. I’ve gained experiences I can share with my children, grandchildren, and students. I love life, and I still pile as much on my daily plate as I can do without exhausting myself. Yet, age is starting to take its toll.

I can’t do what I once could. I strain to lift a fifty-pound bag of birdseed. Bending over is more painful. I look to see what else I can do while I’m in the bent-over position. I can’t walk as fast as I once could, and exercise—while good for my body—taxes my joints just the same. Names of people I’ve known for years escape me. Sometimes I can’t remember the names of students who I see five days per week—another source of laughter for them.

Although my body and mind are changing as I age, one thing remains the same. As with the prophet, God has remained my God throughout my lifetime. From the moment I met Him when I was nine years old until now, He’s stayed faithful. He has cared for me and carried me through every circumstance in life. And I have faith He’ll continue to do the same until I breathe my final breath or until He returns for me.

Age alters our bodies, but God never changes. Jesus said He would never leave His children—and He won’t. Even if our minds and bodies cease functioning properly, He’s still close by, tending to our every need. He remains faithful to the promises in His Word, no matter how long we live. He will deliver His people through sickness, disease, hard times, brokenness, and death. 

Age may slow you down, but don’t give up on God’s work. He will enable you to bear fruit as long as you have breath.

Tweetable: Are you aging gracefully?

Prayer: Father, sustain us as we age that we might continue to serve You. 

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