On Azimuth

14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, 15 to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92:14-15

            I have reached the age of sixty-five. There were times along the way when I did not think that I would make it another day. Fortunately, the Lord carried me through all those time and blessed Christy and I with the financial resources that enabled me to retire early. So as we used to say in the Army, I get paid to shuffle out to the mailbox in my robe and slippers and suck in air and push it out. When I decided to retire and shared that with some of my Christian friends where I worked, they chastised me for retiring, claiming that there is no retirement in scripture. Well, that’s not really true. In Numbers we read:

²⁵ And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. ²⁶ They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.” Numbers 8:25-26

So the Lord provided for a retirement plan for the Levites. So does that mean that I am allowed to sit on my couch, watch the NFL, and eat snacks. Well, Christy and the Lord might have something to say about that plan.

            Looking at the passage from Psalms, the Lord will bless me to bear fruit even in my old age. Now, I’m not saying that I will have more children. But I am saying that there are still things for me to do, fruit to bear, even in these final decades of my life.

⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

In this passage, Jesus does not delineate a period of time for fruitfulness. He delineates remaining in Him. So, no matter what stage of life I am in, if I remain in Christ I will bear fruit. There are things for me to do, tasks to fulfill that will glorify God. I enlisted as a Private in the Army and served through the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Less than a month before my last day on active duty, I found myself in a foreign country conducting a mission for the Army. It is the same for us as Christians. We serve until He calls us home. The nature of our service changes. As a young soldier my work was highly physical, requiring great fitness and stamina. As a Lieutenant Colonel, my work was more cerebral, requiring wisdom and judgement gained through long years of active service. It is the same with the Lord. The nature of our service and consequential fruit changes over time. Look at Paul’s instructions to Titus regarding widows.

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, Titus 2:3-4

            There is a shift in their ministry. They start teaching the young women, helping them navigate the challenges of rearing children, being married, and running a household. We should always remember that when Paul wrote this, running a household often involved managing the family business. Do not fall into the trap of thinking this only applied to household chores such as cleaning and cooking. Remember Lydia of acts, the seller of purple. There is great strength in intergenerational relationships which encourage the older men to teach the younger men.

⁵ He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, ⁶ that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, ⁷ so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, Psalm 78:5-7

            In my own congregation, I serve as a small group leader in our Men’s Ministry. I am paired with a younger man to help him grow into a strong small group leader. I am not better. I’ve just been around the block a few more times and have made many mistakes. I can share with him some of the lessons I’ve learned about leading. Soon, I will pass the baton to him, and he will bear his own fruit. His future success will be the fruit of my older age.

            So, while I do not engage in the job market, earning a paycheck, I do have many tasks to do. The Lord still expects me to bear fruit. It is just a different type of fruit these days.