this old man’s prayer

O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

Psalm 71:17-18

This prayer feels like a faint echo of my own life. I still vividly remember the time when Jesus changed my life. I was only 7 years old, yet the change was amazing. My parents became Christians, responding to the gospel in a revival service altar call (really old fashioned... really Baptist), both in the same night. Our home was transformed by grace and the gospel. I understood the gospel myself just a few months later in a Vacation Bible School (also very Baptist). That was 1971. From my youth then, God has taught me. And I have desired to proclaim His wondrous deeds.

And now I am near the double nickel mark, that magical age where societal pressures push people to think hard about retirement and self-driven fantasies of a life of ease in old age (I’m not ready for that at all). I am more and more an “old guy” when I go to pastor’s gatherings and conferences. It’s OK. I am fine with this stage. It has its advantages. When I turned 50, I had a firm conviction (some would call it a “word from the Lord” but I wouldn’t go that far) that my ministry efforts needed to transition to a concentration on helping the “young eagles” fly. I’ve seen too many old pastors not train young leaders to take their place and watched churches crash as a result. I think that is so selfish. No way is any ministry ever to be dependent upon me.

And here I am... graying whiskers and stiff knees, sorting meds in the morning, knowing God wants me to still proclaim His might to another generation. Aging has taught me that God is the constant source of strength, to the young and to the old. The same God that transformed my world in my youth is powerfully transforming this old dude still! May God do so in order that His power might be known to those yet to come! Amen.