Even to Old Age and Gray Hairs: The Meaning of Life at Every Age

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“I’m so lonely,” sobbed Edwin as he sat on the edge of his bed. After serving as a pastor for 45 years and dedicating much of his life to missionary work in India, he now felt isolated. Claire, a former teacher now in her 90s, looked at me yearningly. “I want to go home. Pastor, please ask God to take me home.” Walter, a creative woodworker for over 50 years but now handicapped, expressed his despair: “I have nothing to live for.”

These are the voices of Christian men and women who have lived long and fruitful lives but now pine away in solitary and often infirm existence. Their once “up and at ’em” outlook with the rising sun has turned into dread upon waking to another gloomy morning. They echo the prophet Job who lamented the day of his birth, “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not” (Job 3:20–21).

When a man is young, he may feel like he can take on the world. Each day seems to open up to countless blessings. For many elderly Christians, however, life feels like a burden rather than a blessing. The years take a toll on their bodies; friends and family are gone or live far away; the meaning and purpose of their lives seems elusive. For them to ask, “Why am I so alone?” or “Why can’t I go home to heaven?” or “Why is there nothing to live for?” stems not from ingratitude but from genuine sorrow over the losses they have experienced and the physical frailty they have come to know.

There are no easy answers to their questions — and yet, the Lord offers us guidance in His Word. As with so many other questions about life, the Bible confronts old age head on. Ecclesiastes 12:1–3 says, “Remember also your Creator in the days of your when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent.” These verses speak of a time coming for every man when his hands begin to tremble, his legs are bowed, his eyesight dims, and his desires fade. Moses spoke similarly in Psalm 90:10, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” The patriarch Jacob, at 130 years old, described his life to Pharaoh: “Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life” (Gen. 47:9). God’s Word confirms the sad reality: Aging brings trouble, sorrow and a longing for relief.

Thankfully, our Lord does not leave us without hope in our weakness. His Word declares His unwavering assurance. Click here to keep reading.

 

The Rev. William Gleason is pastor emeritus at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, Ill. This article was first published in and is reprinted here by permission of The Lutheran Witness.

 

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