One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament is found in Joshua 14.10-14. As the children of Israel conquer the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, their attention turns to the division of the territory. Caleb, a long-time soldier and faithful servant of God, approaches Joshua and says, “God has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me the hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” Imagine: Caleb, at his age and stage of life, wanted a new challenge…and he chose the conquest of a mountain inhabited by reported giants! So much for retirement!
Years ago, the United Technologies Corporation published in the Wall Street Journal a full-page message entitled, “It’s What You Do, Not When You Do It.” It contained the following information:
- Ted Williams, at age 42, slammed a home run in his last official time at bat in Major League Baseball.
- Winston Churchill was 65 when he became Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel.
- George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was first produced.
- Benjamin Franklin was a newspaper columnist at 16 and a framer of the U. S. Constitution at 81.
According to the article, “you’re never too young or too old if you’ve got talent. Let’s recognize that age has little to do with ability.”
While it’s possible to retire from one’s job or vocation, the Bible never contemplates a follower of Christ retiring from service to His kingdom. Retirement is never a reason to turn down an opportunity for ministry. We’re not to run away from mountainous challenges, but rather we are to race toward them, knowing we can conquer them (in the words of Caleb), “the Lord helping me.”
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