Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation. (Ps. 71:18)
Expanded Passage: Psalm 71:9-18
When I was perhaps ten or eleven years of age, I overheard adults talk about a couple in the church who were in their midthirties and had been married for fifteen years. He was thirty-five years old and she thirty-four. And they’ve been married how long? Fifteen years? Seriously? Are you kidding me? As a kid it was unfathomable that someone could be that old and be married for as long as they had. Now that I’m a little more than twice their age and have been married to my wife for fifty years plus, that childhood memory is laughable. The process and perspective of aging is an interesting phenomenon. I don’t feel I’m as old as my birth certificate insists that I am.
The poet is old and feeling his age. He may be ill. His enemies are conspiring to take him out. At this season in his life when his strength is ebbing, life is difficult, perplexing, and hard. Nevertheless, he looks back at the past several decades through the rearview mirror and recognizes the faithfulness of the Lord.
The eyewitness testimony of those who have walked with Christ for a number of years can fortify the emerging faith of the next generation. Firsthand accounts from seasoned sojourners declaring the faithfulness of God to millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha can be invaluable.
Share your testimony to the rearview mirror of future generations.
Ed Rotz has served The Wesleyan Church as a pastor and district superintendent. He currently works for PastorServe, Inc. and lives in Topeka, Kansas with his wife, Sharon.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
