What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “senior adult”? The answer of course depends on your season of life. The very young have no concept of a senior adult, instead, they see the world through much simpler eyes. They see “old” people, they see grandmas and grandpas, nanas and papas, mimis and gigis, lolis and pops. To the very young senior adults often look, smell, and act funny. Old people can be as kind as kind can possibly be one minute, and as cranky as cranky can be the next. No wonder the very young seem so confused when they are around old people they don’t really know.
As we get older, we come to view seniors in a different way, though they still look, smell, and act funny. As we get older, we pay more attention to intangible qualities, things like how older people think and how passionate, concerned, and involved they are with family and friends. As we grow older, we grow to appreciate their life experiences and often wonder how difficult life must have been before smartphones, microwaves, social media, and before more information than can possibly be digested at the touch of a few keystrokes.
As we age, we often find ourselves at odds with how our parents and grandparents think, we simply cannot comprehend why they seem frustrated when we don’t immediately return their calls or listen to their voice messages (Really, voice messages?) or drop by unannounced to see the kids.
The reality for all of us, regardless of age, is that the world is changing so fast that just a few years’ difference in ages can reveal a very different way of thinking about and seeing the world.
It is important for those of us that are older to remember that we were once young and we too thought our parents and grandparents looked, smelled, acted, and thought funny. We would do well to remember that our children are now adults and that our grandchildren, as much as we love them, are not our children.
It is equally important for those that are younger to remember that their parents and grandparents grew up in a very different world and have seen and perhaps personally experienced what to you is unimaginable and incomprehensible.
Nowhere in scripture is it anticipated or prescribed that senior adults retire from serving God. In fact, scripture points to the vital role older people are to play in the home and the church.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” - Exodus 20:12
"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother [which is the first commandment with a promise], 3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:1-4
"2 Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. 3 Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. 4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. 6 In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely." -Titus 2:2-6 (NLT)
Today, pray on behalf of our Senior Adult Ministry, pray that those who are older recognize God is not finished with them simply based on their age. Pray our seniors always strive to teach and model godliness to their families and to always be an example to those who have lived a little less life.
