By Getting older is not for the weak. Unfortunately, weakness is one of the symptoms of getting older. Such frustrations imply that the Bible probably has much to say about said topic. Indeed, God has much to say on getting older. Sermon series can be preached on these verses, but at the very least for today, we can draw out the basic principle from every word of God that speaks on getting older.
(By the way, Jay Adams, a Biblical Counsellor has written an entire book on getting older, wonderfully entitled Wrinkled but not Ruined.)
Five Biblical Virtues to Honour God in Your Ageing
Psalm 90:10 — Humility: acknowledge the reality of ageing
Getting older is a reality of current human life. We might be tempted to deny our increasing frailty and to persist in our youthful perception of ourselves, but it is those who come to grips with the reality of getting older who are the wiser for it (Psalm 90:12).
Psalm 119:100 — Wisdom: read your Bible today
Getting older does not always mean that you are getting wiser. To be a wise old person one day, requires of you to read your Bible today.
Proverbs 16:31 and Proverbs 17:6 — Righteousness: be your godliest at home
Getting older is an honour for those who have influenced their families with godliness. Even if one has not feared the Lord from childhood, it is never to late to leave a legacy of godliness among the saints (Hebrews 11:11, 22).
Ecclesiastes 7:10 and Ecclesiastes 9:10 — Diligence: live actively in the present, not the past
The aches, pains, losses, and loneliness of old age might tempt the discontented with a longing back to “the good ol’ days”. However, those who, though getting older, still find something to do, will please the Lord in this life and the next (recognise the wonderful example many elderly women like this in 1 Timothy 5:9-10!).
Titus 2:2-3 — Faithfulness: leave a legacy of Christian excellence
Getting older is not a free pass to sin. To the contrary, as the physical body loses some of the control of itself that it once had, the need for self control in our behaviour is even greater. Getting older might be an honourable excuse for physical oddities, but it is never an excuse for spiritual inappropriateness.
Whether eighteen or eighty, stamp these five biblical virtues in your thinking so that when God calls each of us home, be it at eighty or eighteen, we will be found faithful (1 Peter 1:7).