Faith And Hope
How many really old people have you known? I don’t mean people in their 60s or 70s. I mean really old people, people who are at least 90 years old. Have you ever known anyone that’s 100?
I’ve been extremely fortunate to know several who have lived for over a century. And it’s no doubt a reflection of my background, but each one was a Christian. My Great Grandmother, for instance, lived until I was 12. She died at 104. If I’ve done my math right, Grandma Sue was born in 1860, two years before the Civil War began.
I remember thinking how her speech was different from ours. Like her daughter, my Grandmother, Grandma Sue, was very careful in her speech. She would pause to think about what she would say and then speak deliberately with superb diction. It would never occur to her to use slang if she knew any. Words like “yeah” and “Nah” were never used in our household. It was always “yes” and “no” and usually “yes, mam” or “no, mam.”
My grandparents read the Bible daily, and you could hear it in their language. They took the Bible’s teachings deep into their souls, and it showed. Grandma once said she could tell if someone was a Christian just by looking at them. There was a radiance that would shine through. And that was undoubtedly true for Grandma.
It wasn’t that she somehow avoided sorrow. Everyone who lived as long as she did knows sorrow. She had lost a Husband, mother, father, brothers, and sisters. She was one of the few at her age. Everyone else was younger. As she grew older, sorrow was a constant companion. Yet she remained upbeat and hopeful all the time I knew her.
Much of Grandma’s strength and courage came from her ability to anticipate some things coming our way. Today many believe that the future will be all goodness and light. Grandma knew better. When I would paint some particularly rosy picture of the future, she would remind me that wasn’t what the Bible says.
We would read through the time Jesus sat down in the Olive Grove and talked to his students about the future. He explained that there would be many who claimed to be able to save them. But these were charlatans, delivering empty “political promises” whose objective was merely to gain power. Sound familiar?
Believe it or not, Jesus predicts that Christians will become a persecuted class. The government will begin a concerted discrimination process if you are a Christian. That Godly values will be turned upside down, good will be called evil, and evil good. He goes on to say that there will be worldwide wars.
Finally, Jesus predicts that there will come a time of great social chaos when people will be led into sin, hating, or even betraying each other.
You can read it all in Matthew Chapter 24.
It’s a pretty bleak picture. I know many think Christians are unrealistic “do-gooders” with the view of a “great pie in the sky by and by” attitude. That may be true for some younger Christians, but by the time they reach real old age, these older Christians inevitably have a pretty down-to-earth view. After all, they’re usually one of the few still left.
Today, Grandma has been gone for many years, but there is still a remnant of “old Christians” that we can learn from. My daughter’s community, for one, has several members in the 90+ category. What’s so unique is that their view of this world over the years remains unchanged. Today’s senior Christians see the world just like Grandma Sue, a place of great temptation and great evil but also a place where you can find a great promise and hope, a hope in Christ. And it is that hope that helps them persevere.
No matter how bad this world may be, these Senior Christians know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and a better future lies ahead. This weekend we will celebrate the primary tenant of our Faith as we honor the death of Jesus, our savior. Followed by the greatest miracle of all time, His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
For Christians of all ages, this is the high point of our year.
Happy Easter, everyone!
