Healing Rays of Righteousness

(Part Two of Two)

The wisdom of Proverbs 15:13 and 15 says that a cheerful face indicates a positive attitude toward life, and that such persons have an inner joy: “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, … the cheerful heart has a continual feast.”

However, these same verses also tell us that difficult circumstances can threaten and crush one’s spirit and rob a person of this joy; “heartache crushes the spirit, … All the days of the oppressed are wretched.”   Unfortunately, growing older often becomes fertile soil for negative attitudes to take root and grow, robbing the elderly of the joy that God intended for them to experience in their latter years.

It has been said, “It is not how old you are but how you are old that makes the difference in your enjoyment or despair of life.”  It is also said, “A beautiful young person is an accident of nature, but a beautiful older person is a work of art.”

The psalmist paints a beautiful word picture of the aging person in Psa. 92:12-14.  “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”

Proverbs 4:18 states that our latter years are intended to be our glory years, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”  To view our aging as a journey into the light, rather into the darkness, makes a world of difference in the kind of person we become in our latter years.

Proverbs 15:14 states that “The discerning heart seeks knowledge.”  This speaks directly to how our aging can become a journey into the light rather than into darkness.  For as we continue to seek knowledge, see new visions, hear new sounds, and find new directions for our life in service to God, we nurture a joyful, satisfied heart .

The biblical story of Moses is a good portrayal of a person with a discerning heart seeking knowledge.  Moses is about eighty years old when he encounters God in the burning bush and is given a new vocation, new responsibility, and a new lifestyle for the latter third of his life.  There are two attributes of Moses that reveal a cheerful, discerning heart, seeking knowledge.

Curiosity

Curiosity and interest in life outside himself, caused Moses to remain open-minded, even at 80 years old. He never stops learning as he gathers news from wandering herdsmen about life in Egypt; debates with others around the cook fire regarding the virtues and power of the God he follows; and gleans from his father-in-law, Jethro, any bits of knowledge he could.

Curiosity moved Moses from his comfortable, placid, easygoing life into an encounter with God and a new lifestyle.  Curiosity draws this elderly gentleman into a life of purposeful action; from herding sheep to delivering God’s people from slavery.  Call it curiosity or zest for life.  Moses had it, and I think it is a vital attribute toward enjoying a continual feast throughout all of life.

It’s tempting, as we grow older, to close our minds to change when it comes too fast for us to comprehend.  We tend to back up into our little corner, shut the door to possibilities, and wish for the “good old days.”  But, Moses would tell us to always remain curious and open to new possibilities and life-changing experiences.

Sense of the Sacred 

Moses had experienced a lot of disappointments, troubles and sadness during his life.  Once a handsome, sought-after social partner, Moses is now an 80 year-old, forgotten man of many abilities.  He could have become angered by the circumstances that took him from a person of prominence as a member of the Egyptian royal house to an insignificant, smelly sheepherder.

Moses had every right to be cynical in his old age, and bitter that life had dealt him such a bad deal. Who would blame him if he became another basket case of negativity and pessimism?  It would have been easy for Moses to smirk mockingly at an invitation from God to serve Him in a grand plan of rescuing His people from slavery.

But we find here a man who has retained a sense of the sacred.  When he encounters the presence of God in the bush fire, he covers his face, realizing that for some reason, God has not forgotten him, and is now coming to him.

Some people become very bitter and cynical in their latter years.  Cynicism grows and flourishes very quickly in the soil of hardships, unfairness, and disappointments. Cynicism destroys every aspect of life, even one’s religious life.

A sense of the sacred counters any tendency toward cynicism.  A sense of the sacred opens us to God’s presence, power, and possibilities.  A sense of the sacred fills life with purpose and joy, creating a zest for living.

Like Moses, people who “age well” remain committed to God, family, friends, and special causes.  Their curiosity, sense of the sacred, and service commitments give purpose and meaning to life.  Yes, God intends for our entire life to be involved in a service mission for Him and His purposes in the world, “staying fresh and green and still bearing fruit in old age.”

According to Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine.”  This is God’s “medicare plan” for all of us.  Are you in the plan?

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – April 10, 2019