As I age, I have noticed something. Not only is my body becoming less flexible; so is my mind. On the one hand, it makes me more emotionally stable. But on the other, I have become less daring and more risk averse. I know that if I fall, it will take longer to heal and could permanently limit my range of motion.
Now those who do physical training tell me that it does not have to be this way. If you continue to exercise, you can slow the pace of decay and retain much of your former flexibility and strength. This is also true of the mind. Recent research has found that those who stay actively engaged in relationships and continue to learn new things retain much of their mental capacity and clarity.
Is the same true with regard to our spiritual capacities? Is it possible to stay active and daring in one’s faith, even though the body and mind are not as responsive as they once were?
I believe it is possible if we are willing. But we have to stay engaged, earnest, invested, and active or even our faith will begin to atrophy with age.
I believe this is what God meant when He told Isaiah, “Behold, I do a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19). Of course He does! He is not the Re-Creator, but the Creator. He constantly does new things in new ways. I believe He wants to do new things even when we are old, if we’ll let Him.
This also applies to the way God works through His church. I came to faith through a genuine revival, the Jesus People Movement. It was good, and it was glorious. Millions came to Christ and probably saved our nation from the moral and social collapse.
Although the challenges facing the church and the nation today are not identical, nor are the solutions. Still I believe He can do it again. Of course the message should not change; nor should the method of dependiing upon the Holy Spirit and prayer. But we cannot simply rest on the laurels of our sacred past, refusing to allow God to move through us in new and less familiar ways. We need to engage the world around us; to challenge its assumptions and present the Gospel message of Christ in contemporary ways. Many people have heard about Christianity, but they have not heard about Christ. They know about the rules, but no one has ever spoken to them about the relationship of a sacred romance. They have heard of God’s hatred for sin, but not about His love for sinners. They know all about broken lives, but almost nothing of God’s power to heal. They know all about going to church, but have never seen Christians living in loving community.
The past does not have to be our best. We are still here for a reason. Let’s stay engaged!
Pastor Ken Ortize