The Bright Side Of Growing Older

February 23, 2014

Title: The Bright Side of Growing Older

Scripture: Job 11:17 (KJV)—“Thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth.”

Introduction

Our devotion for today is about the brightside of growing old.

If you don’t think there is a bright side to it, I found some humorous stories that may change your mind.

When Elizabeth Sphar’s grandson asked her how old she was, she teasingly replied, “I’m not sure.”

Undaunted by his grandmother’s ignorance, the little boy gave her some advice.

He said, “Look in your underwear, Grandma. Mine says I’m four.”

One woman who was struggling with the reality of her age asked a friend, “I don’t think I look forty-years-old, do you?”

Her friend answered, “No, but you used to!”

During a TV commercial break, an eighty-five-year-old man climbed out of his recliner and said, “Honey, I’m going into the kitchen to get some ice cream, would you like some?”

The elderly woman was pleased with her husband’s willingness to serve her a bowl of ice cream, but she wanted to make sure he brought her the right kind.

She said, “I want vanilla with chocolate sauce on top.

Write it down so you won’t forget.”

He just shook his head and walked into the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, he returned carrying a plateful of scrambled eggs.

When he handed it to his wife she grumbled, “I told you to write it down so you wouldn’t forget.

But instead of making a note, you show up with eggs and forgot my bacon!”

It was quite a shock when Slim, a ninety-year-old man, married a woman of just fifty-five years.

People were talking and one of them decided to get some answers.

He asked Slim a series of probing questions.

Rufus asked, “Did you marry her because she’s pretty?”

Slim said, “No, truth is she’s not that pretty.”

Rufus persisted, “Did you marry her ’cause she’s rich?”

Slim denied she had any money to speak of.

Rufus speculated, “You must have married her because she’s a good cook.”

Slim admitted she really couldn’t cook very well.

Rufus was dumbfounded so he asked straight out, “Why in the world did you marry her then?”

Slim answered, “Because she can drive after dark.”

One senior adult recently made the following comment: “If you’re over sixty-five and wake up without something hurting—you’re dead.”

George Burns said, “By the time you’re eighty, you know everything, but the problem is you just can’t remember it.”

I suppose nobody ever did naturally like the idea of getting older.

I know I don’t; I turned 65 on March 2.

There is a sense of oppression and depression about it.

I look different; my hair is thinning, my muscles are soft, my waste continues to grow, the hair in my nose and ears grows profusely.

I think I am beginning to look more like my father looked in his old age.

However, I not only look different, I am different.

My patience has left me, and Sierra will tell you that I am grumpy and hard to get along with.

There are these liver spots on my hands and arms.

I can’t see or hear very well any more.

One preacher had this to say on the subject of aging: “The irresistible, inevitable onward march of moments and years without the possibility of one instant’s pause—a march that, even while on the uphill side of life, is leading to the downhill side—casts an autumn-like shadow over many a birthday. Nevertheless, the Bible gives us the bright side of everything!”

In this case, it gives us three brightsides.

Today, we are going to look at those three brightsides to getting older.

First, Growing older brings Increasing Brightness.

Every year means another year of experiencing His love and faithfulness, and it means that we have more knowledge of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

It says in Proverbs, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble” (Prov.4:18-19).

Light and dark are opposites; therefore, it is easy to compare the two.

Think of them as being two different paths through life.

The paths taken by the wise and the wicked are as different as light and darkness.

Choosing the path to follow is a life or death decision.

The path of the wise is like the dawn’s first rays of light that gradually increase to greater brightness.

The path of the wicked is characterized by complete and utter darkness that causes instability and stumbling.

Psalm 1 compares the happiness found in the Lord with the sadness of those who do not know Him.

It tells us in verse 1 that there is a blessing that comes to the person who obeys the Lord—“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”