BiblicalInsights.net

“Blessed is the man that walkest not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standest in the way of sinners, nor sittest in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringest forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doth shall prosper” (Ps. 1:1-3).
The righteous will bear fruit and prosper because they have entered into covenant relationship with God and God’s grace supplies them all that they need in order to be spiritually successful.
Fruit trees teach us something of value.  Fig trees must be 3 to 5 years old before bearing fruit.  The olive tree must be 7 years old before bearing fruit.  A mature tree can pr0duce 1,000 pounds of fruit and live to be 1,000 years old.  Some of the best fruit is produced in the last season of life.  What is the last season of life?  The answer may be somewhat difficult to define with a specific age, but certainly in our older years in contrast to our younger years of life.    How should Christians spend these years in the kingdom of God?
A Real Tension Between Personal Desire and Cultural Norms
Our personal desire is the live a full, meaningful, and fruitful life.  However, our culture shouts that we are too old to be of any use.  Retire and live a life of ease.  After all, you’ve earned it.  But, this expectation causes us to turn inward and makes us more self-centered and self-indulgent.  This view conflicts with the Scriptural instructions that we receive from God.  A Christian has opportunity to bear the most fruit in the last season of life.
Leadership
Elders in the Lord’s church must not be novices (I Tim. 3:6).  Elders must be seasoned, experienced, wise, godly and skilled in the use of God’s Word.  The development of godly character and the proving of that character takes time.  Wisdom is knowledge plus know-how.  Experience in the use of God’s Word takes time to acquire.  The word “elder” itself indicates that leadership in the Lord’s kingdom does not come from the youngest Christians, but from older Christian men.  An elder proves himself in his own home (I Tim. 3:4-5).  Godly leadership in the home is a prerequisite to godly leadership in the church.  Such leadership takes time to develop and prove itself so that other members of the church can observe it and accept it as validation for of the office of an elder.  An elder leads in promoting and defending the purity of the church (Titus 1:9-10).  It takes time to acquire a knowledge of God and His Word.  It takes even more time to become skillful in the Word (Heb. 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”).  Spiritual discernment is the same as righteous judgment (John 7:24).  Both utilize the principles and truths of God’s Word to solve problems, recognize error and refute it, and provide answers to doubtful disputations.  Self-mastery is also a qualification of elders.  Spiritual maturity is reached when a person has grown to acquire the fruits of the Spirit in his life.  The moral qualifications for elders given in I Tim. 3 and Titus 1 confirm that this man is not a novice.  He is tried, tested, and has demonstrated that he possesses the godly character that commands respect from within the kingdom of God and from without.  There is no doubt, that God’s Word indicates that leadership is a fruit that can be born in the last season of life.  While it is possible for a man to qualify to be an elder before he reaches this stage of life, it is certainly true that men in this last season of life can bear the fruit of godly leadership.  If we are going to build the kingdom of God, we need good spiritual guidance from men sound in the faith and qualified by the Holy Spirit to lead.
Teaching God’s Word
Often Christians, who have taught God’s Word in the earlier years of their lives, but reach the retirement years, resign from teaching God’s Word and “let the younger generation do it.”  However, God’s Word declares, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers,  not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedience to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5).  Actively teaching the Word of God is a fruit that should be born in the last season of life.  Aged women should be exemplary in godly character bearing the fruits of the Spirit in the their lives.  They are to be holy, not false accusers (gossip by definition is a partial truth), and “not given too much wine” (abstain from the inebriating effects of alcoholic beverages).  They are to be teachers of good things and they are to teach the younger women.  Older women must seize this opportunity to teach the younger women to be sober (have the full powers of reasoning unobscured by drugs or alcohol), to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, and obedient to their own husbands.  This is a significant responsibility given to older women.  The fruit of a godly example and positive instruction in righteousness are to be born in the last season of life.
Spiritual Maturity
“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in the faith, in charity, in patience” (Titus 2:1-2).  Our older years should be characterized by spiritual maturity.  This is not to say that we should not display true godliness in our younger years as Christians.  But, older members of God’s kingdom should demonstrate Christian maturity.  Spiritual maturity is characterized by spiritual discernment.  Spiritual discernment is dependent upon knowledge of God’s Word and know-how or experience in using God’s Word in daily life.  God’s Word is a great source of the wisdom which is from above (the revelation of the mind of God to the mind/heart of human beings).  Life itself gives us opportunities to utilize God’s Word through application (obedience) in our lives.  The disciplined life results.  The Christian life is a disciplined life where temperance or self-control is manifested and the lusts of the flesh are defeated. Youthful lusts are slain by faithfulness to God.  Spiritual toughness is the result of exercising ourselves in godliness.  Older Christians should display Christlikeness and possess a depth of knowledge and wisdom in the grace of God.
Relationship Building
The apostle Paul was characterized as “the aged” in Philemon 1:9.  He was probably around 61 or 62 years of age at this time.  Paul appeals to Philemon on the basis of love to heal a broken relationship between Philemon and Onesimus.  Paul was involved in peacemaking.  Through peacemaking, a better and stronger relationship could be forged between Philemon and Onesimus.  Paul was instrumental in the conversion of Onesimus (Philemon 1:10).  The spiritual transformation of Onesimus changed the relationship between him and Philemon.  On the spiritual grounds of this new relationship, Paul appeals to Philemon to be merciful and forgive.  If Philemon follows through with Paul’s desire, there is no doubt that the relationship between them would be preserved and strengthened.  Older Christians have an antidote to loneliness.  They can build new relationships in Christ.  Find someone to minister to and make the investment of your life in their life.  Unleash the power of love to form new bonds between Christians.  Unleash the power of the gospel to bring others to Christ.  Building lasting relationships is a fruit that can be born in the last season of life.
Other Fruits 
Can you think of more fruit that can be born in our last season of life?  Paul mentions nine fruits in Gal. 5:22-23.  Consider also: Rom. 6:22; James 3:18; and Col. 1:10.  Jesus teaches us that if we abide in Him, He cleanses us so that we can bear more fruit (John 15:1-8).  God desires that we bear “much fruit.”  Faithfulness is a key to fruitfulness!  If we really desire to please God in all things, we should bear fruit in His kingdom during the last season of life.  The faithful servant is the fruitful servant (Matt. 25:23).  Only the faithful servant will be welcomed into the “joy of thy Lord.”

     Are you afraid to grow old?  Many fear aging because of the negative aspects related to it.  Some of these are:  loss of health, diminished activities that make us feel worthwhile, loss of physical abilities, loss of friends and social structure.  We associate aging with loss and we fear, even dread, getting older. 
     Why not embrace old age and make the best of these years?  As you get older you don’t just decay, you grow.  You grow in knowledge and experience.  You grow in understanding who you are and your purpose for being here.  Character counts at all times and in every aspect of our lives.  It is invaluable in old age.  Here are some qualities that will help you grow old gracefully.
     First, you need dignity.  Dignity is our sense of worthiness.  Ultimately, our sense of self worth comes from the fact that we are created in the image of God and that we are in covenant relationship with God (we are a Christian).  Speaking of Christians, Paul states, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).  Physically, God made us special through the act of creation.  Spiritually, God makes us special through the act of redemption!  Pride is an enemy of dignity.  Grudges, ill-will, and mean-spiritedness will ruin old age.
     Second, you need courage.  Courage is the conviction to do what is right in the face of danger or difficulty.  The fear of loss associated with old age can be overcome through courage.  As we become more infirm physically, it is possible for Christians to become stronger spiritually.  “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16).  Fear is the opposite of courage.  Lovelessness is the opposite of courage.  Paul declares that love “beareth all things” (I Cor. 13:7).  Love is strong.  Unbelief is the opposite of courage.  Faith in God makes us courageous (Heb. 11:33-40). 
     Third, you need humor.  “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Prov. 17:22).  Don’t take yourself too seriously.  Be optimistic.  Love believeth all things and hopeth all things (I Cor. 13:7).  The opposite of optimism is dread and pessimism.  Is the glass half-empty or half-full?  You decide.
     Fourth, you need meekness.  We must face life with good emotion.  Meekness is an inner strength that is closely associated with humility.  It is not weakness.  Meekness helps us cope with change.  When we are faced with burdens to bear, we can bear them by using all of the resources available to us as Christians.  We supply our own strength.  We get help from fellow Christians (Gal. 6:1-2) and we take our burdens to the Lord (I Pet. 5:7).
     Fifth, you need love.  Love enhances all that we are and all that we do (I Cor. 13:1-3).  Love is broken down by Paul through the prism of inspiration into sixteen constituent elements (I Cor. 13:4-8).  “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, charity never faileth…”  
     Sixth, you need a sense of importance. Why do people say, “Oh, to be young again.”  Perhaps the answer is unsatisfied lives.  Lives that haven’t found meaning.  The purpose for which God created us was twofold.  First, God created us so He could delight in us and have fellowship with us.  Second, God created us so that we could glorify Him (Rev. 4:11).  Christians fulfill their redemptive purpose as well whenever they glorify God in their bodies and in their spirits (I Cor. 6:20).  We find true meaning in life by serving God and others.  Don’t be selfish and self-centered.
     Seventh, you need relationships.  People are important.  They are more important than material things.  If you want to grow old gracefully, invest in your family, friends, neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ.  You can’t substitute material things for love.  In old age, be generous in giving and receiving love. 
     The best way to grow old gracefully is to live each day in God’s grace and bask in His goodness.  This requires that you be a New Testament Christian.