It's Just a Number

On Saturday I will turn fifty years of age.  That's right, I am now legally an antique!  Some of you reading this blog are thinking, "Fifty is so incredibly old" and some of you reading it are thinking, "Fifty is so young".  Both of my brothers and many of my high school classmates have already sailed into this half century of existence ahead of me.  I'm still a long way away from catching Methuselah who lived to the ripe old age of 969.  If I compare myself to him, I am just starting out.  However, I'm fairly certain I won't come close to catching Methuselah, nor do I really want to.

My take on turning fifty:  I think it's pretty cool.  Fifty is a great, round number.  It says, "You have experience" but you're not really that old.  It's just a number.  I've been told you're as old as you feel, but I don't really buy that.  There are days (Usually Tuesday mornings after playing a couple hours of hoops on Monday night) that I feel closer in age to Methuselah than to my own age.  There are also days when I feel like I have the strength and stamina of a twenty year old.  So how old I feel varies from day to day.  But at the end of the day, fifty is just a number.  I enjoy trying to keep this fifty year old body in decent shape so that I can still play hoops with twenty year olds.  I also enjoy trying to keep up with my young sons.  So don't try to harass me about turning 50 because I'm looking forward to it.  I embrace becoming an antique.  Hey, AARP has already sent me my membership application.  It's funny because I can become a dues-paying member but cannot reap any benefits until I turn 55.  So crack on me if you want, but I'll just laugh with you.

However, turning 50 has put ministry in a clearer perspective.  I realize I just don't have that many years left in ministry or even on this earth.  It moves me away from playing the "Church" game and want to see people come to Christ and become His devoted followers.  I just don't have time any more for those in the church who complain about the church or are focused only on themselves.  There are way too many lost souls for the church to spend her time trying to placate complainers or whiners.  I want to see live changed and eternity influenced rather than leading a bunch of meetings.

At Hillcrest Baptist Church, we have some wonderful role models in the area of aging.  We have seniors who may be retired from their vocation but are serving the Lord with all of their heart.  Man, that's how I want to roll into the "sunset years", serving the Lord and continuing to have an impact.  Forget playing golf every day or heading off to bingo.  I want to have new challenges in my life and I want to continue to influence future generations to follow the Lord.  I want to have a Caleb mentality.  You should really read Joshua 14:6-15 to see what God-led retirement looks like.  Caleb kept going and realized God had kept him alive to fulfill his purpose.  When he was one of the oldest in the land, he was still going strong.  That's what I want to have in my life.

So as I roll into 50, I know it won't be long until 55 comes and then 60.  I've been told the years begin to speed up as you get older, but I won't know until it happens.  As these years keep rolling, I hope you will still see my passion, love, energy and fire for Jesus.  I pray that you will have that same kind of fire in you.  What are you doing to make sure you can serve the Lord faithfully as you age?  How are you preparing your body?  How are you preparing your mind?  How are you preparing your emotions?  How are you preparing your soul?  May this Sip from the Well encourage you to more actively pursue a life of meaning and purpose so you can leave a Caleb Legacy!  Because whatever age you are today, remember, it's just a number!