Every part of the body is
valuable to the church ( 1 Corinthians
12:14-18 ), including – perhaps
especially – older members. Though some may have been put out to pasture, we
should retrieve them to be teachers of good things. We should not assume that
older people are incapable of making decisions and understanding a modern
world. Include them in discussions, invite their opinions, and consider their
experiences. They likely have some advice worth hearing ( Job 12:12 ). If Rehoboam had respected his
elders, Israel might not have split ( 1 Kings 12:6-13 ). The law said: “Thou shalt rise
up before the hoary, and honor the face of the old man” ( Leviticus 19:32 ). Consider, too, that “Honor
thy father and mother” ( Ephesians 6:2 ) was not just written for young
children.
As
Matt has told us, the Bible many times refers to the palm tree and the tree has
many attributes that we can relate to as Christians; such as, the older the
tree the sweeter the fruit . Psalm 92:12, the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 those that be planted in the house of
the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 they shall still bring
forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15 to shew that the
LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no
unrighteousness in him.
As a congregation of Gods people, to
successfully complete a job we need to have all our resources. If the task is
to plant your garden you know you will need tools for digging, hoeing,
fertilizing, watering and knowing when to plant. If we don’t use all our
resources we are not giving it our best shot and the harvest will not be as
good as it could be. The same is true for our efforts to work for the Lord. If
the church work doesn’t use all the available talents, the results won’t be as
good as it could be.
As the
ones with the sweetest fruit, you must look for areas to help and be willing
to do it. If you’re waiting on someone to ask you, this is a request for your
help.
Prayer
Requests: ____________________________________________________________