Never Retire From Serving Jesus
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(7) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (8) Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.’ (Galatians 6:7-8)
When I retired back in May of this year I thought that I would be doing more visits to the gun range, which for me is like going golfing for others. I figured there would be more time to burn, but I should have listened more to those who retired before me; almost all universally stated they seem to be busier in their retirement than they were working full-time. It’s almost like the paradox of tithing, where I found we had more in the bank account after we started tithing than we did prior to tithing, oh so many years ago… I am more busy now in retirement, but I am also more content with more blessings.
Today, I find myself doing more along the lines of doing Godly things, like writing this Word-Of-The-Day blog, formulating weekly lessons for our Life Group studies, and making sure there are a couple of sermons ready just in case the Pastor takes a break (prayerfully not taking a spill and getting a break). It is not what I expected, I haven’t been to the gun range – even once – since retirement, but for now it’s all copacetic as I have a daily and a weekly routine that is settled. Eventually I will make it out to put holes in targets sometime in the future once I determine a day and time of the week to fit it in and adjust other things accordingly.
One thing is for certain about the future; it has to be one where God is first and foremost. Many retire from their occupations and retire from Christian service as well. It is not good from the standpoint that many who do retire have much more to offer in their Faith, to be leaders to those young Christians who need examples and need teaching about who they need to become. This is what is behind Galatians 6, which talks of people who grow weary and simply want to consume and not produce.
A simple Economics 101 lesson: there must be more producers than consumers or there will be failure. This is true with the financial well-being of the United States, and it is true within the spiritual life of any church. If no one wants to produce food, for example, and only consume food, there will be no food once the warehouses are empty and everyone will starve. In church, if everyone simply comes and consumes the sermon, and then heads home, the church will soon close its doors.
The Christian church cannot solely exist on the Pastoral staff to ‘feed’ the congregation Spiritually. It needs people to step up and serve as preschool monitors, children ministry teachers, Life Group leaders, be on its governing teams, and other Sunday (and other days of the week) service roles. These roles are typically ones that need people with Christian experience, to help those not yet as strong in the Word to get to that level so the next ‘generation’ can take over.
The church also needs ‘leaders’ who can demonstrate the Lord’s instructions on being good stewards in the areas of tithing, and sharing the Word outside of the church’s walls. The church needs its people to gather the food, sort it, and distribute it to those in need – not only of food, but to see the love of Jesus in action. This requires ‘seasoned’ Christians to demonstrate Christian servitude to the new Believer, and provide a road map for them to follow.
There will be a day when you may wave goodbye to a secular career, but there should never be a farewell to Christian service. Even at 100 years of age, I have seen women greet people coming in, welcoming them into the church. Every little bit helps and promotes the cause of Christ! Seek to please the Spirit, and He will provide for you a contentment that is far better than any rest you could gain from doing nothing.
