That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience; the aged women likewise. Titus 2:2-3
One of the most touching things to me concerning our late brother Doug Macleod in the last few years of his life was his interest in the young Christians in the Assembly. His care for them was reflected in the way in which a good number of them made it a point to sit and chat with him about important developments in their lives. Doug often confided to me how much he appreciated those little visits and the willingness of those young people to discuss their issues with him. But the feelings were mutual; many of those same young folks often expressed how much they appreciated Doug’s care for them and his willingness to listen to them. Both sides benefited from a man who was an example of the elderly saints described in our text today. How kind God is to bless our Assemblies with these godly aged saints! They are a rich blessing to us, and those of us who are approaching – or already entered – those senior years can only hope we will be as valuable as those whom we have appreciated.
One of the primary values of older Christians is the example they set for us. For example, despite his physical frailties, Doug was at as many of the Assembly meetings as he could possibly be. Others often said that if Doug could get there, they would be ashamed of not getting there. Elderly saints set examples of good spiritual habits of Bible reading and prayer, of witnessing to others, of caring for others, of taking an interest in all of the activities and affairs of the Assembly, and so on. This godly example means far more than we often realize.
Also valuable is the advice and counsel that we receive from the elderly Christians. From their extensive experience, they can draw wisdom that would be mere words if coming from a younger person. Most of us can recall the encouragement we received when discussing things with such a godly senior saint. Their words of advice carried great weight, and we appreciated them.Another valuable benefit from aged godly saints is their prayers. One of the verses of Kittie Suffield’s lovely song Little is Much When God is in it speaks to this resource:
‘Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer’.
Many of the greatest prayer warriors among us are in their senior years, dear saints who have come to know the power in taking all their cares and burdens and exercises to the Throne of Grace. Only eternity will reveal how many Christians were preserved from stumbling, how many discouraged folks were uplifted, how many burdened souls were cheered because of the prayers of elderly saints who took it all to the Lord.
We are all getting older. May we appreciate those aged men and women among us and strive to become like them when we reach that valuable stage of life. – Jim MacIntosh