Old Age and What to Do About It

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

this was our Sermon today, 31Oct2010:

http://sermon.net/graceistheplace/sermonid/2531778?ref=nf

[opebo]

Suppose it is one of those things which kind of takes care of itself.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

Summary:

Ecclesiastes 12:1 "Remember your Creator before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them.'"

 There follows a description of old age that can be pretty depressing.  Solomon's choice of words waxes poetic. Maybe he thought poetry would soften the blow.  "The keeper of the house will tremble" means the hands will tremble.  The "strong men will be bent" means the legs will bow, the knees will buckle.

 The "almond tree will blossom" means the hair will turn white.  He describes the eyes failing, the loss of opportunity ("the doors in the street will be shut"), and concludes with "desire will fail."

Passions and desires that motivate and drive us in our youth will cease.  No wonder he calls the end years "evil days" and declares that we will have "no pleasure in them."

But he didn't write to depress us.  He stated his purpose clearly in 11:9 and 12:1.  He said, "Rejoice in your youth, before" those days come, and "remember your Creator."

Rejoice and Remember.  Have fun, but don't forget God. Don't leave Him out of your life, and don't think that to have God in your life means you're not supposed to celebrate. 

Sometimes we Christians get so bogged down with religiosity, we don't actually know how to enjoy and celebrate everything about life.  But Jesus declared that He came so we could "have life, and have it more abundantly."

We should start everyday with a positive declaration that "today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

[Torie]

In other words, get laid as early and as often as possible, by any reasonably ethically means possible? Have I understood this sermon's leitmotif? If so ...

[Dr. Cynic]

In other words, get laid as early and as often as possible, by any reasonably ethically means possible? Have I understood this sermon's leitmotif? If so ...

Nonsense. What about those poor young kids who walk in on their grandparents sprawled over the kitchen table after mom and dad have had too much thunderbird wine at Thanksgiving dinner? It may not be pretty, but it's essential to any healthy relationship in the golden years, so basically, that's just b.s.