“So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.”
Genesis 12:4 NLT
Ageing, and how to manage a population of older people, is much in the news. The challenge is that the debate is itself often ageist, in that it’s built upon a premise that older people are somehow in need of vast resources to sustain themselves. What I love about the story of Abram is that the whole adventure begins at age 75. In other words, God wasn’t finished with him, even though he’s well beyond the age that most people in the UK assume they will have retired.
God, however, never sees anyone side-lined through age and the limitations that can accompany it. Abram, well settled with Sarai in Haran, accepts God’s invitation to set off on a new journey, leaving home and all security for a destination as yet unknown. We can adventure if we choose for all of our life; an adventure that is not limited by ill health. Katey in her nursing home continued to serve that community even though she required the energy of a young Christian volunteer who visited her to do so. It is remarkable that Abram and Sarai entered into their purpose in old age. We’ve little knowledge of how they lived, worshipped and served until this moment.
Many look forward to retirement as an opportunity to live life free from the regulations of paid employment. It is seen as time for investment in personal recreation, although many find they are in demand to care for grandchildren just to keep their own children’s working lives on track. In approaching retirement, it is essential to pray and to plan as to what God has in his heart for this period of time. As life expectancy extends in the Western world, and age is described as young-old, middle-old and old-old, rather than just making appropriate financial arrangements, it is essential to reimagine who I might be in God through the various seasons of old age. We can in fact become agents of ageism ourselves by failing to see the opportunities still awaiting us to serve God.
QUESTION
How do you envisage your retirement?
PRAYER
Lord, may I follow you all the days of my life.
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