Today's Readings: Judges 13:1–25; Psalm 71; Luke 1:5–25
My oldest grandson, Cooper, recently made a keen observation in the form of a question as we sat reading a book together in our living room. “Why do you have white hair on your arm?” Surprised and bemused, I smiled at his sweet attitude, innocence and the complete earnestness of the question. It exposed the fact that my aging process (which has been painfully obvious to me for a while) has now become discernible to a young child. I forget exactly how I responded, probably because I have white hair starting to show on my arm, but I essentially told him that it naturally happens to us as we get older. He solemnly nodded as if to acknowledge the unassailable truth of my answer and accepted my explanation without further comment or curiosity as if that told him everything he needed to know about geriatrics. It was a beautiful, poignant exchange between a PopPop and a grandson whose love expresses itself implicitly in every interaction.
But the smile that grew on my face in response to his question also had to do with the perspective that time provides. I remembered in that moment the blessings of knowing Jesus for most of my adult life and, as instructed in Ephesians 2:11, I remembered what I was before I knew Jesus. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, I was “dead in my trespasses and sin, without hope and without God”. This remembering has produced humility, gratitude, and a deep sense of joy for what God has done for his people through Jesus.
We see the perspective that faithful (though not mistake free) living over a lifetime provides in the words of Psalm 71. The author (most likely King David) had grown old at the time of the writing. The Psalm looks back all the way to his birth and declares that God had been with him from the beginning of his life. As he surveyed his life on earth, he could see that God had preserved him in times of danger and suffering, both personally and for the nation of Israel. He expresses that his hope, deliverance, confidence, and help rest in a God who has done countless righteous and marvelous deeds. He had experienced enough of life to see God at work, over and over, in faithful covenant with his people.
God served as his refuge, a safe place in uncertain times, and a source of joy that transcends any circumstance that comes. The Psalmist commits to making sure the message of God’s goodness will continue:
Even when I am old and gray do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, Your mighty acts to all who are to come.
May the joy of knowing Jesus fill us to overflowing so that, like the Psalmist, we make him known to the generations to come.
