Growing Old with Wisdom

October 16, 2011


Background Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:7 – 12:14
Lesson Passage: Ecclesiastes 11:9, 10; 12:1 – 7, 13

Judgment Day is coming. That’s a sobering reminder. While we are moving through life, we should find time and the appropriate manner to pause and enjoy the life we are living. Don’t let the days of your life pass by with a cloud of depression or stress lingering over it every moment you are awake. There should be time for happy occasions—at least every now and then. After all, one day you will not wake up and this life will have ended the day or night before. But let your fun be moral and your relationships ethical for the end of this life is not the end of your existence. Judgment Day is coming. We will awake in a new existence and have to give an account of the deeds done in our bodies. So allow wisdom to be your guide through this life and into the next. This life is brief yet it sets the stage for eternity. The things in which we rejoice in this life are all fleeting. Youthful whims and childish fun times provide lifetime memories but nothing of substance that is lasting. Children should be allowed to be children and youth should be allowed to be youth while we are directing them towards maturity in other areas of their lives. They have a way of letting us know when they are ready to move on to the next station if we are patient counselors for them. We teach them about their creator and the need for God in their lives—especially during times of difficulties or difficult decisions. It is a joy to see them receive and understand these instructions while they are young so that we can be comforted in knowing that they have what they need for the long haul. One day our physical bodies will show the wear and tear of age if we are blessed with longevity. One day our eyesight will grow dim, our limbs will become feeble, our hearing will become dull, our hair will either fall out or turn gray, and our teeth will no longer be reliable. All of these are reminders that we have passed the Spring and Summer of our lives and we are into the Fall or Winter years of our life. The satisfaction of these years will be in knowing that we have lived lives that were wholesome when we were younger. We have been worshipers of God and helpers of our fellow man. Therefore, our living has not been in vain. We should then focus the more on being a counselor to others who come behind us. We will teach diligently those things we have learned so that those who will be admonished can live lives that are not in vain. Above all else, we will teach the fear of the Lord to all for therein is the beginning of wisdom. After all, Judgment Day is coming.


Robert C. Hudson
October 5, 2011