You Are Too Old - No Longer Useful

Some so called brilliant doctors in in 1905 came up with a hypothesis. They said men who were over 60 years old were no longer useful. This despite the fact nearly half of the men in the country were farmers and the overwhelming majority of them worked well past 60.

Enter retirement. People work until they are 65 and if they have their financial affairs in order they walk away from their jobs, or in some cases, are forced away from their jobs. Others look forward to a life of rest and relaxation. They will spend the next decade or longer sipping coffee, traveling, playing golf, fishing, shopping or playing cards. In best case scenarios there are enough funds to live well to the end. In worst cases people live on fixed incomes and pinch pennies to live a meager existence.

To retire means to retreat, to cease working, and to be compelled to quit work or leave a job. Every year the A.A. R.P. sends out their recruitments to get senior citizens or those approaching the winter years of life to join up. NOT ME. NO SIR. I NEVER PLAN ON RETIRING. I may not always be a pastor but I hope to write, preach, teach, and hold revival meetings until I am no longer able or no longer wanted.

I take my inspiration from Caleb. Joshua 14:6-15 (ESV) 
⁶  Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me.
⁷  I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.
⁸  But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God.
⁹  And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’
¹⁰  And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.
¹¹  I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.
¹²  So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”
¹³  Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.
¹⁴  Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.
¹⁵  Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba. (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.  

Why does Caleb inspire me? Because when he was 85 he still dreamed, he still took on challenges, and he still believed God's promises. He wholly followed God. 

He did not shy away from a challenge despite being 85 years old. He wanted the hill country. He willingly volunteered to drive out the inhabitants of the hill country. The mountain country. Not a job for an old man. Old retired men shy away from the hill country. They prefer the coffee shops and golf courses. 

Old Caleb remembered God's promise. Though his dream of possessing land for him and his kin got delayed 45 years he still believed. He met the challenge head on. 

I love what Caleb said about himself. " I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming."

When Caleb said he was strong I don't think he was just taking physically. The word strong means to be bold and stouthearted. Are you still stouthearted like when you were young. I am 50 years old. Not young but not necessarily old. I am continually looking for challenges. I see others do the same. My friend Jimmy, well into his fifties, has run several marathons. Karl Don still works as a farmer in west Texas though is 80. I think of Mark Julian, former running back at Texas Tech, who still serves as a youth minister well into his sixties.  He still plays flag football with the students every Sunday afternoon. Still young at heart. All of those have a Caleb spirit. 

We may retire from our vocation but we should never  retire from serving the Lord. We should want to serve God and wholly follow Him no matter what our age. 

Just because we age does mean we have to get old. We can still learn. We still believe God for His promises. We can still wholly follow Him. qWE CAN STILL BE USEFUL. No matter what the experts say. 

I am inspired that Ronald Reagan ran for President of the United States at 69 years old and won.. George H. Bush, though confined to a wheel chair no longer able to walk on his own, tandem sky dived on his 90th birthday. A lady named Janice Vaughn hosted a Disciple Now Group of students in her home at age 92!. George Mueller traveled around the world for 17 years preaching after age 70. Francis Asbury traveled on horseback preaching over 16,500 sermons over 300,000 miles until he was past retirement age. 

I want to be a Caleb. I want to go wholly after God. I want to wholly follow Him all the days of my remaining life. I still believe the best sermons God will give me and help me preach are before me. I still believe my best writings are before me. I still believe my best days as a pastor and a revival preacher are ahead of me. I AM STILL USEFUL AND HOPE AND PLAN TO BE FOR A LONG LONG TIME. 

To all the middle aged or older people, I shout, YOU ARE STILL USEFUL TO GOD. YOU STILL HAVE PURPOSE. FOLLOW HIM WHOLLY. TAKE ON THE HILL COUNTRY.