Thus & This we are to BE
“You can’t pull them all out,” he said from across the room, as I stood with tweezers in hand, pulling grey hairs. Of late, the more I see myself in the mirror, the greater number of grey hairs I see. Now, don’t get me wrong, grey hair could mean:
- A healthy dose of years lived.
- A distinguished-looking person.
- An individual who may hold much wisdom.
OR grey could just mean—OLD, as in, a person’s not as young as he believes, as he remembers, and as he once felt.
While it is true, we seem to see that which we hope to see. My grandma Hall used to say:
“I am thankful for birthdays because that means I am still living, and while I am still living, I have places to go, people to see, and things to do” (a paraphrase of grandma’s words).
- She lived into her 90s, and those who knew and loved Grandma Hall—miss her every single day.
- She greyed in her later years, and those who saw and loved Grandma Hall—loved her grey hair.
- She grew slower in her last months and years, and those who visited her in the care center—never forgot the precious moments & conversations we shared with her.
In the Bible, the LORD has something to say about growing old, and one passage that readily comes is found in the ninety-second Psalm.
“The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
(The Psalms 92: 12-15 NAS)
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Planted in the house of the LORD,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
There is so much to unpack here.
To flourish means: to sprout, to bud, to flower, and the Bible says: “The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, . . .”
- God has a purpose for us.
- God has a purpose for our lives.
God intends for us to flourish—from the moment we come to Him in salvation, until the day we die and come home to heaven.
God’s purpose and plan for us is pretty simple.
Budding & Sprouting & Flourishing is just something we are to do—No matter what age our birth certificate proclaims us to be. & Despite how many grey hairs seem to appear each new day. We “ain’t” dead yet, so we are useful to God.
Let us never forget.
In The Book of Isaiah the prophet wrote—
“The wilderness and the desert will be glad,
(The Book of Isaiah 35: 1-2 NAS)
And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;
Like the crocus
It will blossom profusely
And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They will see the glory of the LORD,
The majesty of our God.”
Budding—
Sprouting—
Flourishing—
Does not mean we will work “harder” OR “faster” OR “continuously accomplish large tasks.”
That’s right. As we age, we cannot work “harder, faster or accomplish” more than we did when we were young. Our bodies will scream and protest profusely.
Nevertheless, there is something ELSE we can accomplish through the LORD.
The LORD is telling us through the psalmist and through the prophet—
We are to GROW DEEP ROOTS IN THE SOIL OF GOD.
The Thus will lead us to The This we are to BE.
- Thus: Be rooted in God.
- Thus: Make my home in God.
- Thus: Seek to walk with Jesus Christ.
&
- This will fulfill our life purpose, our life plan which God has for each one of us.
- This will fulfill GOD’S life purpose He has for us. &
- This will fulfill GOD’S life plan He has fashioned for us.
As I finish, I leave you with the wise words of my three-year-old great nephew.
When asked by my niece: “Who do you like to play with at playtime?”
He replied: “I like to play with Grandma Jean because she is old.”
To which my niece asked: “Why do you like to play with her?”
And out of the mouths of babes comes the LORD’S wisdom: “I already told you, SHE IS OLD. I like to play with old people, yeah even like Gran.”
Great-grandma Jean is his eighty-year-old playmate & His “Gran,” well, she is his other playmate, a VERY old 1974 baby. (I’ll let you do the math.)
May we continue flourishing, budding, sprouting, and growing in the LORD, until He comes!
Tauren Wells sings a melody “God’s Not Done with You,” a fitting song for our
Thus & This we are to BE remembering.
“The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
(The Psalms 92: 12-15 NAS)
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
[You and I, even in our older season, are to BE]
Planted in the house of the LORD,
[BE daily in God’s Word]
[BE walking daily with the Son of God]
[BE seeking Him in prayer every day]
[BE deeply rooted into the good soil the LORD provides]
[and then we see the benefits that come when we are]
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
To declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”