A Seventy-Year Life

    Suppose God granted you a life of seventy years? How would you spend it? An average person would spend it like this:

Three years getting an education.

Eight years recreating and relaxing.

Six years eating.

Four years talking.

Fourteen years working.

Three years reading.

Twenty-four years sleeping.

How much time do you give to God? If you went to church every week and prayed for five minutes every morning and evening, you would give God five-months out of seventy years.

- via THE SOWER, a weekly publication of the Arthur Church of Christ, Arthur, IL. Ron Bartanen, who serves as minister and editor, may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.arthurchurchofchrist.com

Old as the Hills

    The census taker knocked on the lady's door.  She answered all his questions except one.  She refused to tell him her age.
    "But everyone tells their age to the census taker," he said.
    "Did Miss Maisy Hill, and Miss Daisy Hill tell you their ages?" she asked.
    "Certainly," he replied.
    "Well, I'm the same age as they are," she snapped.
    The census taker simply wrote on the form, "As old as the Hills."
    You may have heard that our nation's oldest person, a 113-year-old woman, died recently just weeks before her 114th birthday.  The world's oldest person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, is a Japanese man, who will turn 116 next week. The oldest person ever on record was a Frenchwoman who was 122 when she died in 1997.  All of these could easily be described with the phrase, "As old as the hills."
    But they are all babies when compared with Methuselah.  You recognize his name.  He's known in the Bible for one thing -- being the oldest person mentioned.  969 years old!  That's a lot of years.  And I think it's sad. Not that he was so old, but because that's what he is known for.  He's not known for his great faith, for his moral courage, or for his righteousness. He's known for being old.
    In fact, if you do the math, you come up with an interesting fact -- Methuselah died the year it started flooding.  Was it just a coincidence, or was Methuselah one of the many who perished in that judgment of God?  We don't know.
    I just pray that some day I'll be remembered, not for the number of years I lived upon this earth, but for the way that I lived while I was here.
    "The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." (Proverbs 16:31)
    Have a great day!

- Alan Smith, author of the popular "Thought For Today," and minister for the Fayetteville Church of Christ in Fayetteville, NC, may be contacted at alansmith.servant@gmail.com

Ty Cobb at 70

When Ty Cobb was 70, a reporter asked him, "What do you think you'd hit if you were playing these days?"

Cobb, who was a life-time .367 hitter, said, "About .290, maybe .300."

The reporter said, "That's because of the travel, the night games, the artificial turf, and all the new pitches like the slider, right?"

"No," said Cobb, "it's because I'm 70."

Whether we are looking forward to it or not, we're all getting older.

Truth is, old age frightens most of us. I think Jonathan Swift was right when he said, "Every man desires to live long, but no man wants to be old."

Old age should be something looked upon with honor and respect. The Jews were commanded, "You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man..." (Lev. 19:32).

But we live in a society where youth is glorified, so age is something you cover up or deny. The talents and skills of the elderly, acquired over a lifetime, are often ignored. Perhaps, a sense of not feeling of value to others leads to questions of value in the sight of God.

Even David expressed his fear when he prayed to God, "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Do not forsake me when my strength fails." (Psa. 71:9).

Fortunately, we know that God will not forsake us then (or at any other time!). Though we may not be able to do at 70 what we could do at 40, there is much to be offered (both to God and others) in the "golden years".

May God help us to appreciate and respect those who are our elders.

Source:
Alan Smith's "Thought For The Day," date unknown. This piece, although not attributed, is found also at Christian Stories.