SERVING THE LORD IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF LIFE
or BE A FOURTH QUARTER CHRISTIAN
Psalm 90:12
Rick Lance (Executive Director, State Board of Missions, Alabama Baptist State Convention)
If you are a fan of college football, you know that the game is divided between two halves – the first half and the second half. There are four quarters as well.
Arguably, the fourth quarter of the game is the most important. Many games are won or lost in the fourth quarter. That is why you often see a team raise four fingers when the fourth quarter begins. It is their way of saying, “The fourth quarter is ours. We are going to win in the fourth quarter and, therefore, win the game.
Life can be viewed as having four quarters as well. If you assume the average life span to be 80 years, then the first 20 years is the first quarter. The years 20-40 is the second quarter; 40-60, the third quarter; and 60-80, the fourth quarter.
What we call senior adulthood is basically fourth-quarter living. Twenty percent of Americans are in the fourth quarter of life. It is the fastest growing segment of our population. Almost every church is led by fourth-quarter Christians.
The Psalmist knew something about fourth-quarter Christian living long before there was the game called college football. In that majestic affirmation of the greatness of God we call Psalm 90, the Psalmist declares in verses 10-12:
“Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach 80. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they will disappear and we are gone.
“Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
“Teach us to make the most of our time; so that we may grow in wisdom” (New Living translation).
How can we make the most of our time? As we grow older how can we also grow wiser? To use the football analogy, How can we serve the Lord in the fourth quarter of life?
Based upon my understanding of God’s Word and the life I have lived in the past three quarters, I want to offer four recommendations to you.
I. First, IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF LIFE, LIVE WITH YOUR FEELINGS.
Verse 10 of Psalm 90 declares: “…even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble.” Pain and trouble are a fact of life. In the football game of life people get hurt. Most players will tell you that by the fourth quarter of a game everyone plays hurt. The linemen have been roughed up, the running-backs and receivers are bruised, and the quarterbacks are battered.
This past season you and I witnessed something unusual. If you watched the University of Alabama football team, you were probably amazed, as was I, that punter Lane Bearden played the past part of the season with a leg brace. He had a season-ending injury, for most players, but because he was a punter and did not routinely experience contact, Lane chose to play. In a couple of games he had some contact. In fact in one game he made a touchdown-saving tackle. After punting the ball the kick-returner came toward him and Lane Bearden took the challenge. He tackled the runner, saving a touchdown.
By the fourth quarter of life we are bruised, battered, and beaten down by the experiences we face. We all have to play hurt. Not one of us has a clean jersey. We all have experienced the brutal nature of the football game of life.
For some the pain and trouble is the loss of a mate. You grieve, but you keep playing the game. For others it is a health issue. You experience the pain, but you keep playing the game.
In the fourth quarter of life serving the Lord means living with your feelings of pain and trouble. By this time of life you know what it means to suffer and to hurt. The challenge is to keep playing while you hurt. You nurse your pain and trouble but serve the Lord despite it. You will not and you really can not say “I quit.” This is the fourth quarter of life. You put your four fingers up into the air and say, “Victory in the fourth quarter.”
II. Second, IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF LIFE, LEARN FROM YOUR FAILURES.
At halftime in the locker-room the coaches and players make a lot of adjustments. They talk about the miscues and the mistakes, and they seek to learn from them.
When college football was still a young game and the Rose Bowl was the bowl game in which every team wanted to play, there was the legendary story of Roy Riegels. You probably remember him as “Wrong Way Roy Riegels.” He received that negative description because in the confusion of the game he recovered the ball and ran the opposite, or wrong, direction and placed his team in an unwinnable position. Yet, in life, Roy Riegels went the right way. He finished college and went on to a career of public service as the Superintendent of Education in one of the largest school systems in America. He was known as a tremendous motivator and a great encourager.
By the fourth quarter of life we have made our share of mistakes. We have dropped the pass, thrown the interception, fumbled the ball, and missed the blocking and tackling assignments. Yet it is in the wisdom of the fourth quarter of life that we say, “I have learned from my mistakes and I am moving forward.” What do you do in the fourth quarter of life?
- You live with your feelings –
you know how to play the game even when you’re hurt.
- You learn from your mistakes –
you use your mistakes and failures to grow in wisdom.
III.Third, IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF LIFE, LEAN ON YOUR FAITH.
Faith is essential in the fourth quarter of life. Despite the score on the scoreboard you must have faith or the fourth quarter of life will be a flop. Putting those four fingers into the air during the fourth quarter symbolizes faith – “I believe in the Lord I serve, and I will lean on Him.”
You remember Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths.”
This is God’s game plan for all your life, especially the fourth quarter of serving Him. By this time in life our foolish pride, our selfish desires, and our best-laid plans have been laid to waste. We now know that the only way to grow in wisdom is to lean on Him.
Paul declared, “I know in whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that day” (II Timothy 1:12).
Years ago there was a Bill Gaither-type song that was popularly sung in our churches:
“Learning to lean, I’m learning to lean. I’m learning to lean on Jesus. Finding more power than I’ve ever known, I’m learning to lean on Jesus.”
What do you do in the fourth quarter of life?
- You live with your feelings.
- You learn from your failures.
- You lean on your faith.
But there is something more to do in the fourth quarter of life.
IV. Fourth, IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF LIFE, LOOK TO YOUR FUTURE.
Christians believe there is a future beyond the fourth quarter! Death is the doorway to the future. It is not the end. Rather, it is more like a beginning.
Recently I talked extensively by phone with a 76-year-old pastor who is still in the game. You can say he has retired, but he really has just redirected his life. For 40 years this pastor has experienced health problems. About 15 years ago he was clinically dead from a devastating heart attack. Today his heart is severely damaged, but his heart of wisdom is stronger than ever. In our conversation he talked a bit about his past ministry in terms of gratitude. But his focus was on the future. This man is still in the game. He is living with feelings. Physically and emotionally he has been hurt badly in life. He is learning from his failures. In a moment of confession he said, “When I was younger I used to just make a lot of noise when I preached. Now I make the most of the Bible, communicating it to the people.” He is leaning on his faith. Sure, he is older and slower, but he is still leaning on Jesus.
Death is not his enemy. His hope is in Christ. When the fourth quarter is over for him, he will just take off his uniform and go home to be with Jesus.
To me he epitomizes serving the Lord in the fourth quarter of life. Although you don’t know him, you do know Billy Graham. He, too, is a fourth-quarter Christian. His voice is weaker. His step is slower. But his message is still strong. It is all about Jesus.
My prayer for you is that you will be a fourth-quarter Christian. Put your four fingers up into the air and claim the victory. You serve the one who has overcome all the pain and troubles of life – even death. In Christ you are victorious!
THE FOURTH QUARTER IS THE BEST QUARTER OF LIFE!
