Bonus Round
Exodus 20:12, Lev. 19:12
Life Is Short. I think the older you get, the more apparent that becomes. When you’re younger, you feel like you’re going to live forever and can’t wait to get older. But when you’re older, you long for the younger years because they’ve just flown by. James 4:14 says: “Life is like a vapor.” Job 7:6: “Life is like a swift messenger.” It disappears quickly. Psalm 139 tells us that our days on this planet are determined by God while we are still in our mother’s womb. Only He knows how long we will live---two weeks, two years, 40 years, 80 years. No matter your time here on earth, life is short, especially when compared to eternity. But they are not written in stone.
God’s original plan for us was life not death. But when Adam sinned, it changed everything forever. Yet God does not want a short life for us. God wants many of His people living long lives- and this is a one of His blessings He grants to us if we live up to certain expectations. Deuteronomy 6:2: “Fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” Today we’re going to look at the Biblical and spiritual keys to longevity.
First is full surrender. If you want God’s best for your life, then you will have to give Him your best - and your best is a complete and full surrender of your body, your soul, your spirit and your entire life. God wants all 4 of these things fully surrendered to Him so that He can have full and complete control of your life in order to work fully in you. Each person, once they have become saved, has to make continuous decisions with how they will live out the allotted amount of time they still have left down here on this earth. Who will direct and control your life- you or God? Will Jesus now become both Lord and Savior over your life - or just your Savior? In order to get this particular long life blessing bestowed upon you - you have to make Jesus Lord over your life! That means turning the reigns of your life over to Him. Jesus is now the One to lead and direct your life in the direction that He will now want it to go in. If you are willing to make this kind of sacrifice and commitment to God - then you can expect to receive some incredible blessings or lagniappe besides being able to live a long life, including having health, healing, and protection from your enemies and provision. Too many Christians fail to see these blessings because they have never turned the reigns of their lives over to God for Him to fully handle. They are running their own show and calling all of their own shots. As a result, they are missing out on God’s promises.
Second is obey to God’s ways and law.” God says, “And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” 1 Kings 3:14 And in Proverbs 3:3 it says, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.” Once you enter into this full surrender with the Lord where He is now fully directing your life in the direction that He will want it to go - you will have to seek to obey all of His commandments and to walk in all of His ways. These "ways" and "commandments" of the Lord are all spelled out very clearly in both the Old and New Testaments. If you do, it will not only extend your life but have some significant health benefits. "In 1995 ... a Harvard Medical School conference [was convened] on the subject of faith and health ... One study found that weekly churchgoers in Maryland were 50 percent less likely to die from heart attacks. (S.I. McMillen, M.D., and David Stern, M.D., None of These Diseases, 2000, p. 200). The Scriptures call us to Love the Lord, obey His voice, cling to Him, walk in all of His ways, Keep His commands and not forget His law.
Third is honor your father and mother. The Scriptures tell us, “Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” That’s a promise for when you are growing up as a child and teenager but also when you have become an adult. We are always to honor our father and our mother. If we honor our father and mother, we have better relationships with them. If we, as adults, care for the older generations, we find they live longer and lead fuller lives. This was so important to God that it is one of the 10 commandments. Now the first four commandments have to do with God: have no other gods before him, make no graven images of God, don’t take his name in vain and then keep the Sabbath holy unto God. The next six commandments have to do with our relationship to one another, how we live together and treat one another in our family and our society. Included in these commandments forbidding murder, adultery and theft is the commandment to honor your mother and father. That’s how gravely important this is to God.
Now there’s two dimensions to this commandment: what parents do for their children and what children do for their parents. Let’s talk first about what parents do for their children. Being a parent is a calling from God and a gift from God. We have always believed that children belong to God and that is what we affirm when we baptize a child. They belonged to God before they belonged to us. God created them and did so in His image. And thus they are a gift of God to us. But any parent knows and can testify that while there is nothing more gratifying and joy filled as a parent, it is also sometimes the most agonizing, difficult and sometimes painful undertaking in life. Yet we are called to raise these as gifts and in the image of God.
There are six keys to raising children. First is purpose. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 We must teach a child how to live as a child of God. Second is instruction. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Third is love. Our task as parents is to love them well and let them see and experience the love of God through us as parents. Fourth is correction. Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” It cannot be just discipline for that will lead to a rebellious child. But if followed by loving instruction, it is remarkably beneficial to the child. Fifth is motivation. Give praise and reward lavishly. One way is by letting a child work for physical things he wants: money or some item he wants. It can also mean giving rewards for good behavior or other accomplishments. Lastly is consistency. You must be consistent in your demands and your actions and you must be consistent among all your children. Most important you must be consistent in words and actions. Your kids watch you and your example of faith: attending church and a weekly Bible study regularly, praying, meditating on the Scriptures, serving and witnessing and allowing your kids to see you growing in the faith and living it out.
The truth is the call to be a parent never changes. When they move out, they have more freedom. It’s never over when they move out. At that point, your job isn’t to tell you what to do but to love your kids, encourage them and to let them know that no matter what happens, you will always be behind them. One of the things that my mom always does is send little notes to me and she’ll say things like, that was a great sermon, or you’re such good parents or do you know how much I love you. As the children grow up, we are to become the number one supporter and encourager of our children. We continue to be their safety net, their supporter and their number one cheerleader. And we continue to be the one source of unconditional love, that no matter wwhat happens, I’m going to love you and if you need something, then I’m going to be there for you. As long you have breath, that is our job as parents.
Now it was not only a gift from God to give us children to care for, but it was a part of God’s wisdom to give parents their children who will care for them later in life. We are all called to care for the generations which went before us. When we were children, we didn’t realize our parents need anything from us but as we grow older we are grasp emotionally, psychologically and physically that our parents do need us. The very people who have poured their lives in us now need us to do the same for them. They have feelings and emotions and physical needs. They need our prayers, our hugs, our help and our encouragement and love. The older we get, the greater our parent’s need there is in our lives.
Before 1935, there was no social security but God’s plan of social security is for the generations to care for one another. God’s plan was for parent’s caring for their parents or grandparents. People would work until they couldn’t work anymore and the family would take them in and cared for them. And it may very well return to that because 30 years from now Social Security will be bankrupt. And as people live and work longer, there will eventually come a time when they will need help because they can’t do everything for themselves. It may not be financial. They may need wisdom and guidance, to encourage us and care for us or take us to the doctor. This is meant to be because our parents invested in us and there will come a time when I need to invest and care for them. And slowly but surely the roles are reversed. This is how God designed things to work: generations caring for one another in time, resources, love and energy.
Becoming a caregiver can be overwhelming at times, whether it be the physical demands or the distance between you, it can be all consuming. I’d like to suggest a resource: “And Thou Shalt Honor: The Caregivers Companion.” This will help guide you when you have parents who take a great deal of your time and energy. The mission of the parent is lifelong care, mentoring and support and helping our children see the love of God and teach them God’s ways. The lifelong mission of children is to honor their parents. The Hebrew word honor is kabod which literally means to see them as glorious. It means to revere and respect them. It’s doing whatever you need to do to honor your father and mother in that moment and in all time.
Fourth, respect your elders. Lev. 19:32 says, Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.” Repeat that with me. We are to consider the aged as those who are worthy of respect. The word for aged is actually grey haired so rise in the presence of the grey haired. The problem for those of you women who color your hair is that you don’t get that special treatment. ☺ You are to honor the aged because of their life experience and the wisdom they have gained in life. In your neighborhood and in your community, there are all kinds of seniors who may have no one to care for them and they need someone in your generation to care for them, encourage them and befriend them. And when you do that, you will be blessed and God will be glorified. This is how God designed life that parents should care for their young and when we get older our young should care for us. If your parents are no longer living, I guarantee you there is someone out there who needs you. This is how it’s supposed to work. Someday you may be the one who needs someone to befriend and help you.
Are you investing in younger people, loving them, caring for them and nurturing them? Are you caring for the aged and honoring them?
One of things we realize is that time is just flying by and life is constantly changing. And there are times when life feels like its going by so slow, when you’re a teenager or you’re just getting ready to graduate. Right now, it seems like my life is just flying by. We started as the children, then became the parents and then the grandparents and then the recipients of care from the younger generations.
Talk about Luke being born or growing up and how at that moment when you held him, You knew you could never love anyone or anything more than that. Here’s the last simple truth, God loves you just like that. God knows your name and he formed you in your mother’s womb. And he watched you every moment of your life. He loves you so much that it hurts sometimes and he’s always going to love you no matter how far you may run from him. As long as you have breath, he’s going to love you. And if you can live with that truth and walk with that truth in your heart you have found life.
