"i write this to you, elders, because you have known Him who was from the beginning..." -1 john 2:13 and 2:14
"i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have set the pace." - 2 timothy 4:7
in our society, youth is prized above almost anything else. we do all we can to stay looking young, to keep our bodies fit and lean, to keep our hair full of color, and our wardrobes stuffed with the newest trends. in our culture, we desire to stay somewhere between the ages of 18 and 30 for as long as we can (or can fake it).
there's nothing wrong with staying healthy or looking young, but it does foster the illusion in our world that old age is something to be feared, or that the elderly are clueless or lost in their past. we begin to focus all our energy on the immediate and temporary, on the here and now.
the truth is, we should be thinking often of our futures, not just in an immediate sense, but for the long hall.
i can't count how many times people have asked me lately: "what college are you going to?" or "what do you want to major in?" or "what do you want to be when you grow up?". the truth is, i know where i'm going to college, but can't decide what to do when i'm there; i know what i want to do with my life, but have no idea how i'm going to get there; i know what i'm about, but have no clue where that will lead me in the next four years, much less in the next forty or fifty years. essentially, i have next to nothing figured out. but i'm absolutely fine with that, because, honestly, i think these questions, as important as they are, are the wrong ones to be asking.
the real questions someone must ask themselves when they think about their future are:
"what will people say of me at my funeral?"
"what will i be able to say at the end of my road?"
"who will i be at the end of my life?"
i say all these seemingly random thoughts because i was just blessed with a visit from the two greatest saints i have ever known.
syvelle and lovie phillips have been in the ministry since they were my age. when syvelle was 18, the Lord called him to go into full-time ministry, which, back in the 1940's, involved preaching 6 days a week. as a young man, he was sent to preach in a po-dunk town in southern florida, with no real experience whatsoever, and no credentials but God's calling. God turned his little tent where his congregation met into an enormous church, on fire for the Lord, while his church was simultaneously working in missions in Liberia helping lepers in the poverty-stricken nation. God then called him to leave his thriving church again to move to dozens of churches, all with the same result. he moved to california to work in a church that the Lord turned it into one of the biggest mega-churches in the nation. he then called syvelle - who had done mission work in almost every part of the world - to start a Bible translation and missionary support foundation. because of his work, millions of people who were never able to read the Bible in their own language have been given His Word, and even more have been saved through its words and through the dozens of missionaries syvelle has mentored, supported, and trained.
lovie's story is much the same. she felt the Lord tell her to begin to support 12 children after a trip to india, and, 37 years later, she takes care of over 4,500 children in 15 locations in 5 different nations around the world who all know her as "momma lovie". she's not only provided these kids with education, financial backing, a home, food to eat, and connections for their future, but with a hope that endures for eternity and a peace that surpasses understanding.
in their sixty years in ministry, they have experienced everything this life can throw at two people. from church rebellions, to having their home and all their possessions burned to ashes, to having false accusations placed on them, through the loss of two of their children, through move after move into the unknown, through countless sleepless nights, through every temptation this world could offer them; they have endured stress, exhaustion, pain and persecution like few people ever do... and through it all, they have remained true to each other and to their King.
speaking to them is like nothing else you'll ever do. they no longer have the capacity for small talk; they're lives are too big and beautiful to speak of anything less than the extraordinary. when you ask them how they've been doing, lovie will tell you about one of her children who was saved from the utmost poverty and just became one of the leaders of his nation, or about some headhunters they lead to Christ who are going to college this year. syvelle will talk with you about his missionaries and the work they're doing, or how a church he founded is holding up. they'll tell you story after story, miracle after miracle, grace after grace. they don't say it with any pride, they don't say it snobbishly, they don't speak with a sense of superiority. they say everything with excitement and awe. they walk with humility but confidence, as only those who know just how weak they are, but just how strong their father is, can do. they speak with meekness, but with authority, knowing that, even though their stories are incredible, they have nothing to do with their own greatness. they ask for nothing, but offer everything. they are utterly unshakable, yet absolutely gentle. they expect nothing, but deserve everything. their bodies are frail and dying, but their souls are filled with more life than any i have ever known. they are living monument to the greatness of Jesus Christ and His power in a life. and, near the end of their road, all these two saints wanted to tell this 18-year-old child was:
"there is a God in Heaven, He is faithful, He is a God of love, and He will sustain you through
anything."
in as much as i just said, i said far too little and didn't even begin to do justice to them or the God that made them. i say this all just to give you a glimpse into the lives of a couple who have seen the hand of God throughout their days, and are preparing for their trip home. at the end of their days, they are filled with peace and hope, love and life.
more than anything, that's what i desire. regardless of what it costs or entails, i want to live this life experiencing that same God and all that He can do in my life and in the lives of those around me. i want to experience warfare on the supernatural level, to fight for a country and king that's actually worth living and dying for. i want to experience grace and mercy and passion in my life that chaos, confusion, pain, and time itself cannot wear down. i want to experience a love that holds onto me till the end of my life and beyond, and fills me till it overflows and spills out into those around me. i want at the end of my days to be at peace, to want nothing more than to prepare those coming after me, and to be able to say on my death bed, like paul, "i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, and i have set the pace."
i know life seems so crazy and painful. don't get wrapped up in the temporary. so often i give into the lie that this is all there is. i forget my homeland, or, worse, i forget who my Father is. His greatness is beyond all this world is or has to offer, and His grace is sufficient.
i guess, to sum all this up, i should just ask the question:
who do you want to be when you grow up?
"You take over. I'm about to die, my life an offering on God's altar. This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting—God's applause! Depend on it, he's an honest judge. He'll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming." -2 timothy 6-8
hoping and praying we'll all will run straight through the finish line! God bless!
