The February 23, 2015 cover of Time magazine showed an image of a baby with the following headline: “This Baby Could Live to be 142 Years Old.”
With the advancement of medical technology the article was saying that babies born today could live well past 100 years–even close to 150! That type of longevity is hard to comprehend.
Even the official retirement age of 65 years old must be understood differently now. It’s very possible for those who are 65 today to live into their 90’s! That would be 25 or more years of life. Are we ready for that additional time?
My grandfather retired in 1965 when he was 65. He lived until he was 94, nearly 30 years later. He spent most of his time gardening and doing crossword puzzles. That’s what retirement generally meant during those days.
If we search for what the Bible says about retirement, we’ll have to hunt pretty hard. It has a lot to say about getting older, but nothing about retiring and sitting on the sidelines.
In fact, I think a strong case can be made to say that the most influential time of our life happens when we’re older. The midlife and beyond years present us with the season of our greatest influence where we can have a multi-generational impact.
If you want to be inspired, read about Jehoiada and Jehoshabeath (2 Chron 22:10-24:16). As a married couple, they rescued the nation of Judah when they were in their 80’s and preserved the line of David on the throne. It’s one of the most inspiring stories in the Bible, but mostly unknown.
Jehoiada receives one of the few finishing well commendations in the Scripture (2 Chron. 24:15-16):
Now when Jehoiada reached a ripe old age he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old at his death. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel and to God and His house.
What an amazing tribute. All of this happened in his senior years. Jehoiada and his wife chose not to take it easy, but to step into God’s next assignment for their life.
I think the same can be true of us. While we probably won’t rescue a nation, isn’t it possible that God could use us in an assignment far greater than we might have expected?
We need to move past a retirement mindset and be ready for our next assignment from heaven. The Bible is filled with men and woman who experienced this very thing during the “retirement” years of their life.
I’m ready to step into what God will do in my later years. How about you?
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