Original: August 28, 2007
McMinnville, OR
7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. Deuteronomy 34:7
We are all faced with our mortality.
As we age thoughts death, dying, and physical decay temp the forefront of our minds. At some point in life a man begins to see his body’s inability to do what it used to do, recover the way it used to recover and go as far as it used to go. With an industrial society men have become more and more sedentary compelling us to find creative ways to stay active just to maintain our physical stature. Terms such as P90X, Paleo Diet, Atkins Diet, The Zone, Cross Fit, and Insanity were foreign terms to our pre-industrial ancestors who stayed fit through good old fashioned hard work, non-processed foods, and went to bed when the sun went down.
Words relating to exercise, diet, and weight management have become a critical part of our daily vernacular.
Moses lived for 120 years and we are told that his strength “never left him (NASB)”. Then I think back to my Grandpa Ramos who was active and vigorous almost all the way to his dying day at 93 years of age. One day, at 92, I stopped by to visit him and he was on top the roof cleaning the cutters! He used to challenge me to feel his rock hard forearms at 90 years old! He was tough, in shape, and healthy.
Then I think of other, more decrepit men, and I have to wonder what has separated them from those in the front of the aging pack. Why do some fail to measure up to others in the aging process? Why do so many fail to age with confidence, and pride? Why do some seem to age with grace and dignity while others diminish at what seems to be a very young age? Why do some men maintain much of the strength of their youth while others seem to grow haggard and weak so early in life? Why do some age with victory and others in defeat?
Here is the one thing all the men in the front of the pack have in common. Each vigorously served (or are serving) the Lord until the day they died.
Jesus makes the difference.
A man will never meet his full potential apart from an unwavering commitment to Jesus.
These men, like Moses, knew their lives had a reason and a purpose. I knew my grandpa’s time was coming to an end when he told me that he picked up the leaves in his back yard in order to have some “thing” to give him a sense of purpose and keep him alive. Men need something to do. Men need purpose. Men need a job after retirement. Men need to serve others until the day their King takes them home-period. We never retire from serving the Lord and we never are finished with God’s purpose for our lives. As someone once said, “May you live all the days of your life.”
May we never stop aggressively pursuing God’s purpose for our life.
