In these days it’s not fashionable to appreciate aging. We want products that help us to look younger. We see youth glorified on television, movies, and in magazines. We see old people shoved to the side and left to die by themselves. That isn't a biblical view. The Bible has many good things to say about aging. Aging is a great gift. My sister Kristie recently reminded me of something our Mom said not long before she passed away on her 85th birthday. She said, "I feel like I am at the end of the line but I don't want to get off the bus because I still like the ride!" Mom was a great example for us, embracing the joys of life in the midst of the aging process. Today's two passages can help us better embrace God's gift:

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. (Isa. 46:4)

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” (Psa. 92:12-15)

A number of years ago, my cousin Anne called me to let me know that her Mom, my beloved Aunt Margie, was nearing death. She lived in Pompano Beach, Florida, and had asked to have her bed positioned so that she could watch the ocean. I've never forgotten that conversation. Anne said, "All of my life she taught us how to live and now she's teaching us how to die." In today's first passage, as I shared in Monday’s broadcast, we are reminded that God does not abandon us to the aging process. He promises to be with us, to care for us, even to carry us. In our second passage, we are reminded that we can flourish in old age. We can be fruitful and proclaim the goodness of God to those coming after us. I like that, don't you? I want to be fruitful, fresh and green, telling the generations after me about Jesus' goodness and faithfulness in this broken world. The Lord is still faithful. He is still my Rock.

He's given us life and He promises to be with us in fresh new ways, even to the very end...and there is no Better News!