Our Aged Saints: Hope Fixed on God

[In early February 2014, Sis. Billie Hall, one of our beloved sisters, passed from this life.  She was a precious blessing to our whole group.  We will miss her in so many ways.]

“Now she who is a widow indeed and who has been left alone, has fixed her hope on God and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day…”  I Tim. 5:5  NASB

In the world around us the values that are held precious are health, strength, physical beauty, popularity, and the ability to be connected and be on the move.  Many people will even give up their wealth to have these things, and they will sell their souls to hold on to them.

All of those things are vanity – even while we have them, as regards our real happiness, they turn out to be empty.  Peace and hope and joy are not in them. And even though we might have them, it will only be temporary.  No matter how hard we cling to them, as we get older they fade away, slip from our grasp, and they are gone. Strength fails, mobility falters, physical beauty fades, and (no surprise) popularity - among the people who value those things - goes down the drain.

But it should not be so among the people of God! How precious are the aged saints!  With Sister Hall’s passing this past week, I think we say farewell to our oldest member.  It is a GREAT loss!  We will miss her example of holding faithfully to God’s word, even when she had to do it alone. Holy Father and our Lord Jesus, receive her into your arms, and tell her “thank you” from all of us.

I am thinking of those sisters in our congregation who are alone.  They are staying the course in the walk of faith year after year – decade after decade – through disappointment and loss, sometimes in bitter and lonely tears, when others quit – they hold steady to the goal.  With little glory or recognition, with no earthly reward for doing it, they keep battling to “walk in the light”.  They are faithful to do what they can for the kingdom of God; as Jesus said of Mary’s service to him just before he went to the cross, “she hath done what she could”. 

See Paul’s description in the verse above of the widows who were to be cared for by the church.  One with her “hope fixed on God”, who continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.  It is very telling about us that we do not value the prayers of our aged saints. We think that because of their age – especially older women - there is “nothing they can do”.  We may talk that way.  Why do we want the preacher to pray for us?  We think he has a special “connection” to God and he can get us what we want.  But how often will we ask an aged saint to pray for us?  It means we do not really value prayer in the right way.  With Sister Billie’s completion, we will be missing her prayers offered up on our behalf.

We must turn our attention now to the living.  Look around in the congregation and bless each other and serve each other – young and old, each and every one. Amen.