Usually at Thanksgiving and Christmas the church at South Cobb gives away Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to help those in need and to show appreciation for our older members, specifically our widows and widowers. It always does me good to visit our older members, as the older I have grown, the more I appreciate their wisdom, their insight and their maturity. Many of our members at South Cobb have lived through the depression and World War 2, Korea, Vietnam and other wars our country has been through. They have seen recessions, depression, and hard times that many of us that are younger have not had to go through. They maintain great spirits, and loving attitudes that exemplify the spirit of Christ, and show us that it does not pay to worry, but have faith.

The Bible reminds those that are older that they have some responsibilities that they must fulfill. Let us notice some of these:

Those who are older must never retire from the Lord’s work, but they must be faithful until death (Revelation 2:10). Sometimes when one retires from work, they retire from everything else as well. But retirement is not an option for Christians. The only retirement that a Christian has to look forward to is the retirement that comes when we die. Then, the Bible promises that we have an eternal rest awaiting us.

Those who are older have wisdom and knowledge to share, and they need to share it with the younger. In 1 King 12:6-12 we read of King Rehoboam asking the older counselors what he should do about the request of the people to relieve the tax burden, and then he asked the younger men. The older suggested that he lift some of the burdens, the younger advised that he exercise even more authority. Rehoboam should have listened to the older counselors, and many of the problems he experienced would not have happened. Many of our older members have wisdom that they need to share with all of us that are younger. Will we who are younger listen?

Those who are older need to be moral examples and teach the younger. In Titus 2:2-5 Titus is instructed to teach the older members to live exemplary lives before those who are younger, and he gives specific instructions to the older women to teach the younger women how to have a home that God would desire them to have.

Scripture also tells the younger to respect, honor and esteem those who are older (Proverbs 16:31). Paul gave command that family members are to take care of those who are older (1 Timothy 5:1-8) and we find that children are to respect and obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1-3).

God knows that we need the older and the younger in the church together. We need the older to encourage and exemplify Christian living. Older members, don’t resign, but RE SIGN your commitment to the Lord.

And thank you for the examples you set before us.
Tommy