Commentary: The surprise of old age

Ralph Fudge

Temporal things don’t last; we should concentrate on eternal things.”

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). The Lord God has afforded me 81 years thus far to roam the earth. And to Him I am very grateful.

When I am with Him, I plan to thank Him in person. And I know I will be with Him because I believe His Word; and it promises me that if I believe in Jesus the Christ, my soul will proceed to heaven the moment I die.  

For example, when I was under 60, I dreamed of building a house on some land in the country; but now that idea no longer makes sense. We live only a couple of miles from our local hospital, and at our age, that makes more sense. We have faced the fact that things go wrong with age. It seems to be the price of hanging around on the earth so long.

If young people could realize how quickly life passes, perhaps they would make wiser decisions. But they are unable; old age is to the young something too far away to contemplate. If only they knew the truth! And don’t try to tell them; they will just think of you as an old fool. And maybe they are right. 

Having been impecuniously born (born poor), I have so very much today for which to thank my heavenly Father. He has been so very kind and generous to me. He has blessed me far beyond what I ever deserved or expected. The Lord not only saved my soul, He gave to me quite a wonderful life. I’m not saying my life has not had its problems. Jesus told us to expect even persecution and that the world would hate us because it first hated Him. 

Tempus fugit is Latin for “Time flies.” It is so true. I remember once observing how quickly the years were passing. I was 22 years old. Since then, 59 years have trotted past me.

Time not only flies, it has also been called a thief. If you don’t believe that time steals things from you, compare what you look like now with a photo of yourself taken 40 or 50 years ago. My, what we have lost!

This all just goes to show that temporal things don’t last; we should concentrate on eternal things. And the Lord Jesus Christ is our only hope of living eternally. He declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

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Ralph Fudge is the pastor of Big Ochlocknee Baptist Church in Coolidge, Ga., and has a Master’s degree in theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.