Your Later Years Can Be Greater Years!

By David Faust  

It’s time to take a new look at old age.  

On my sixtieth birthday my grandchildren gave me a serviceberry tree to plant in my backyard. Before that day I didn’t know serviceberry trees existed, but it turns out, they are common in Indiana where I live. If you manage to keep the birds away, by early June the trees produce delicious red berries that taste like tart cherries. My grandkids said, “Papa, we want you to have a serviceberry tree because serving God is important to you.”  

I enjoyed my birthday celebration, but unpleasant questions crossed my mind while we planted the tree. I wondered, Now that I have reached age 60, how much service do I have left? Is the best part of my life behind me?  

You may have asked questions like these yourself. But notice what it says in the book of Psalms:  

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 (Psalm 92:12-14).  

I like that description of old age. Who wouldn’t want to “flourish like a palm tree” and “grow like a cedar of Lebanon”? I want to “still bear fruit in old age” and “stay fresh and green” as long as possible—not just wither away and wait to die.  

If you live into your seventies, eighties, or nineties, will you keep serving the Lord and bearing fruit for him? Will you be a faithful Christ follower or an old fuddy-duddy? A cheerful soul or a grumpy old grouch? A hope giver or a dream crusher?  

At this point in my life—somewhere between Generation X and Generation X-Ray—I’m still adjusting to viewing myself as a senior adult. I’m not a spring chicken anymore. Apparently, I’m now a fall (or winter) chicken.  

No matter how old you are, there are compelling reasons you should think about aging.  

YOU MIGHT ALREADY BE OLD NOW.  

My wife, Candy, asked our granddaughter Kayla, “Do you think Nana and Papa are old?” Kayla thought a moment and replied, “Medium old.” Candy and I still are trying to figure out when we will cross the line between “medium old” and “extremely old.”  

The word senior comes from the same root as the word senate (a gathering of wise, seasoned leaders); but from the same root we also get the unflattering word senile. In the workplace, a title like “senior vice president,” “senior partner,” or “senior minister” earns respect, but some older people bristle at being called “senior citizens” and consider it a patronizing or degrading designation. Some cultures (and many churches) consider it an honor to be called an “elder,” but for some of us, “elderly” brings to mind poor health and diminished ability.  

How can we turn our later years into greater years? My book, Not Too Old, offers Bible-based answers to important questions like these:  

• Aging makes me anxious. How should I deal with my fears?  
• I don’t want to become a grumpy old grouch! How can I cultivate my sense of humor as I age? 
• I’m concerned about the next generation. How can I maximize my influence as a grandparent?  
• I believe God speaks through Scripture. What does the Bible say about aging?  
• I wonder about retirement. What should I do when my working career ends? How should I handle my finances before and during my retirement years?  
• I want to keep growing spiritually. How can I enjoy a fruitful relationship with God as I grow older?  
• I don’t want to be irrelevant. Where do senior adults fit in the church?  
• Physical health is important to me. How should I care for my body as I age? 
• Caregiving worries me. What if I need to take care of my spouse or another loved one during my senior years? What if I am the one who needs care?  
• Widowhood worries me. What if my spouse dies? How should I deal with grief when friends and family members pass away?  
• Death is on my radar. What does the Bible say about death and dying? How should I deal with my own mortality and prepare to die well?  

EVEN IF YOU ARE YOUNG NOW, YOU ARE LIKELY (ALTHOUGH NOT GUARANTEED) TO BE OLD YOURSELF SOMEDAY.  

Your senior years will arrive faster than you imagine, and a long life isn’t guaranteed. James says, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14).  

A study by the Stanford Center on Longevity suggests that in the United States, as many as half of today’s 5-year-olds can expect to live to the age of 100.  No one but God, however, knows exactly how long anyone will live. In the United States, the average lifespan of a man is 73.2 years and 79.1 for a woman. This data matches well with Psalm 90:10, which says, “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures.”  

YOU KNOW OTHERS WHO ARE OLD.  

Are there older people in your circle of family and friends? Do you have aging parents or grandparents? “Love your neighbor” includes the older generation.  

The Law of Moses instructed younger people to rise to their feet when an older person entered the room. “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God” (Leviticus 19:32). The apostle Paul told Timothy, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” (1 Timothy 5:1-2). It honors God when we respect the aged.  

AMERICA’S AGING POPULATION CREATES NEW CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.  

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2030, when the last of the Baby Boomer generation moves into older adulthood, more than 71 million residents over age 65 will live in the United States. That number is expected to rise to more than 85 million by 2050—roughly 22 percent of the overall U.S. population. More than one in five Americans will be age 65 and older, and about one in three will be over age 50. It’s vital for the church to have a robust ministry with children and students as we nurture the next generation, but at the same time, we must not neglect our older neighbors. By 2034, older adults will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history.  

According to the Pew Research Center, less than half of senior adults participate regularly in any kind of personal or group Bible study. In other words, most of our older neighbors have no meaningful connection to a local church. Jesus said, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Another translation describes those fields filled with ripened grain as “white already to harvest.”  

White-haired people are part of the Lord’s harvest field. They need to be connected with God’s family and deployed into service.  

HEALTHY CHURCHES CARE ABOUT ALL GENERATIONS.  

I want to belong to a church where older people mentor young married couples, love babies in the church nursery, lead small groups, and help to raise up the next generation of Christ followers, elders, and missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission.  

I want to see little kids and older folks interact, share life experiences, learn from each other, worship together, and serve shoulder-to-shoulder across generational lines. Senior adults need the creativity, vision, and enthusiasm of the young, and our younger friends need the experience and wisdom of the old. We shouldn’t pit the up-and-coming generation against the elderly as if they are rivals. It doesn’t have to be “either/or.” It can be “both/and.” God cares about the young, the old, and everyone in between.  

I want to be part of a church where “one generation commends your works to another” (Psalm 145:4). We can reach the younger generation without disrespecting older people and treating them as irrelevant. “Pure and faultless” religion includes caring both for needy children and for vulnerable adults . . . “look[ing] after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27).  

I want to be part of a church where older people are not merely coddled and catered to, but are cared for and called to serve . . . where young and old members—centered on Christ, not self—share a common mission to love and serve the Lord.  

The serviceberry tree my grandkids helped me plant on my sixtieth birthday has grown in my backyard for nearly a decade. It has endured harsh winters and summer droughts. It displays tender pink blossoms in the spring, and its green leaves turn purplish-brown and drop to the ground in the fall. Through all the different seasons, the tree’s roots have kept growing deeper, and the older it gets, the more fruit the tree bears. I want to be like that, too. What about you?  

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This article is adapted from David Faust’s new book, Not Too Old: Turning Your Later Years into Greater Years (College Press, 2024), which is available as a paperback book, audiobook, or e-book through CollegePress.com or Amazon. 

David serves as senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Ind., and as a contributing editor for Christian Standard. He has written a weekly lesson application for our Bible study material for several years. Previously, he was editor of The Lookout magazine.