Ageism and the God Factor
By Pastor Joseph Urbina, Jr.
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1
The Door Christian Fellowship Church opened her doors forty years ago.
As an institution, we are now officially middle-aged. Life experiences have affected our view of ourselves and others, and perhaps even our view of God.
That we have lasted this long with our current vision and momentum can only be attributed to the unmerited mercy and grace of Almighty God, for behind our façade of a well-groomed appearance and cultured manners lies a simple truth: we are Galileans, the entire lot of us.
At our core we are simple people whose highest aim is to fulfill the great commission found in Matthew 28:19: “Go ye into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”
Our motto for this year is Still At It, an adapted quote from John Wesley. That we would still be at anything, given the climate of our times and the ephemeral nature of human outlook, reflects the drive of our spiritual forefathers who were at it, all at it, and always at it.
But everything we do for God will be contested.
Abraham, the father of our faith, and Moses and Caleb, are among those who served their generation by the will of God even into their old age, but in these modern times we fight a subtle and clever strategy: Ageism.
Ageism is a fundamentally social phenomenon. It minimizes and marginalizes people and institutions based on age. But the Word of God brings a different perspective.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 says “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill: but time and chance happen to them all.”
In our race of life we compete with the strong, the swift, the wise, the young, and the not so young. We must not allow labels, opinions, and circumstances to deter us from the finish line.
While we must fight against the misguided notion that old age is not as productive, we must also break the stereotype that inexperience riddles the young, making them barely usable by God.
Scripture shows us that all ages have their place in the Kingdom of God, meshing together to build the church of Jesus Christ. Many are the examples of different age groups blessing their fellow men and women.
The prophet Samuel served God well into old age. As a lad, David fought battles to forge and unify a nation. A boy with five loaves of bread and two fish blessed a large company of people.
Strength, speed, wisdom, and understanding may contribute to the race, but Solomon declares that these factors are not the one-size-fits-all keys to winning.
The only factor that can make a difference is God Himself. We need the God factor.
Neither Jew nor Greek, Whipper-snapper nor Geezer, can claim age as a limiting factor. That would deny God His proper place in the affairs of man.
Moses, claiming a speech impediment, requested an alternate messenger to announce the deliverance of Israel to Pharaoh. But God rebuked him for making excuses.
We get it. We’re not as strong, swift, or eloquent as we thought we were before.
Since when has any excuse we so masterfully muster – even under the guise of humility – been a limiting factor for God? Matthew 3:9 says He can make children for Abraham out of the rocks!
In fact, Abraham is a perfect example of age having no limitation on God’s power. He was in his prime at 100 years old when he and his lovely young wife of 90 had their first bundle of joy.
How about speed? Our modern society moves at the speed of nano-seconds and quantum leaps designed to give the almighty dollar its due. Hurry! This sale ends at midnight! Just for you! Just for today! Fill your basket full! Speed. At such a rate our lives can change in a moment.
But God wants consistent, dedicated, unassuming people who will put Him first.
Time and chance happen to us all. Does this mean that no matter what our particular ability is, there’s no use in preparing ourselves, since ultimately God will capriciously regale his work on someone else?
No. Opportunity favors the prepared. Solomon discovered – and he ends the book of Ecclesiastes on this note – that what makes the difference in human experience is not our sole dependence on our strength, speed, smarts, or who we know, but our dependence upon the place God occupies in our lives, and how much of our lives we allow Him to control.
So we can win the marathon even in seven-inch stilettos! Well, maybe that is stretching it a bit.
In sum, the testimony of the disciples has always been that men knew they had been with Jesus.
Once that is lost, we cease to progress as a movement and become a monument, a memorial of past glories.
Ladies. Gentlemen: let us never give up so easily the race that is set before us, but let us run it with patience, looking unto Jesus who kept at it till He crossed His finish line.