We live in a day when our culture puts the
most value on people who are at the prime of their life. One such example is those
whose beauty is at its climax, and those whose strength and performance are
optimum. Babies, children, and the elderly are of less value because either they
have not reached the preferred age or they have passed it. This view of life is
in stark contradiction to the Biblical view of life. As Christians, we see life
as a gift no matter what age we are.
David prayed that God would show him how his
life would end and give him a sense of how long he would live. He also asked
God to give him an awareness of how fleeting his life was. What a perceptive
prayer, because with this insight, we can focus on what really matters in life.
The petty things that rob us of our peace and interpersonal harmony with others
just don’t matter. Whatever age we are, knowing what is important in life
changes the quality of our lives (Ps 39:4).
When we face life with a Biblical worldview,
we understand that death is an inevitable part of life. God wills our death
according to His sovereign will. It is, therefore, comforting to us when we
learn to accept that will and align our will with his.
Abraham's final years seem to have brought him
peace because his end is given unusual space in the Bible as well as presenting
a picture of satisfaction. “Altogether,
Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Then Abraham breathed his last
and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered
to his people” (Gen 25:7-8).
What a relief to each of us to accept our
mortality and to understand that we have an allotted number of days to live.
Living life with this perspective allows us to concentrate our energy on things
that have enteral value. Abraham's epitaph tells us that he was gathered to his
people, not just buried. His eyes were on his eternal abode. Earth could never
be his final home. The writer of Hebrews says: “For he was looking forward to
the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb 11:10).
Abraham aged well and enjoyed his life; all
the while he waited for his heavenly home. Here are some thoughts from
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who writes about aging from a Bible perspective:
Aging is in no sense a punishment from on
high, but brings its own blessings and a warmth of colors all its own. There is,
warmth to be drawn from the waning of your own strength.... You can no longer
get through a whole day's work but how good it is to slip into the brief
oblivion of sleep, and what a gift to wake up once more to the clarity of your
second or third morning of the day You are still of this life, yet you are
rising above the material plane. Growing old serenely is not a downhill path
but an ascent.[i]
What a legacy Abraham, this great man of faith, has left us! Each of us
will leave a legacy, but will it be a legacy of faith and hope? Legacies are built
one day at a time doing the will of God. Legacies are made in small ways and in
obedience to God’s call on our life, as it was in Abraham’s life.
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