What do Barack Obama and Andrew Bale have in common?
We are both 47.
There are probably other commonalities but our age is probably the most obvious.
This week I visited a Salvationist who is dying. She is still alert mentally and is aware that 'soon and very soon' she 'is going to see the king'.
Add to all of this the fact that this Sunday, in the UK, is Remembrance Sunday and it all adds up to an emotional and demanding mid life crisis.
Barack Obama is President elect of the most powerful and prosperous nation in the world. At 47 I think he can be content that he has used his allotted time (to date) wisely.
The lady I visited, whether or not she has used her allotted time wisely, has no time left to make a significant impact. If she has allowed the 'locusts' to consume any of her years then there is probably insufficient time for God to do much restoring!
Getting to 47 has not taken a long time! It seems like only yesterday that I was a teenager (indeed, it is only recently that I have actually accepted that I am no longer 'young'). I am, whether I like it or not, a middle-aged man! If my years match those allotted by the bible then I only have another 23 to go!)
William Booth was 49 when The Christian Mission changed its name to The Salvation Army, and as a commissioned Officer in the Salvation Army, I have substantially greater resources and opportunities at my disposal than he had in 1878. Maybe there is a possibility that God has not finished with me yet and through his grace and power, the years ahead can make a significantly greater impact for the kingdom than those that I have already spent.
Of course, any future harvest (as with all God's promises) is conditional and with all these thoughts floating around, I woke up this morning with the following words ringing in my head from 1 Corinthians 13:
"11 When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me."
At the ripe old age of 47 think it is probably time to grow up!
Love and prayers A
3 comments:
You look a lot younger than 47!
CHEER UP BROTHER I WAS 84 LAST OCTOBER 21ST, SO YOU COULD SAY I AM LIVING ON BORROWED TIME AND STILL GOING STRONG. GOD HAS AND IS BLESSING ME INDEED. THE ROAD AHEAD IS STRAIT AND NARROW STAY ON IT AND YOU WILL BE OK. BLESSINGS.BERNIE.
Billy Graham is 90 today. The first world war ended and Billy Graham, who has influenced millions to find the Prince of peace is born. I like that.
Now there's a man who has made the most of his years!
God bless
Carol
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