This week I turned 62. The AARP has been sending me greetings for about twelve years. Golden Corral has been giving me senior discounts based upon hair color and lack of hair for about five years. Uncle Sam says that I am now old enough to collect social security checks. My financial advisor says I need to keep my retirement portfolio in more conservative investments. My doctor reminds me, needlessly, that I cannot do what I once could do.
It is not time to die, however. I figure that in the will of the Lord I could have at least 30 years of living to fill with meaning and purpose. My "bucket list" is long enough to keep me busy for at least another fifty years. I'll probably add more to the list as time goes by. Rather than ever retiring in the traditional sense of the word and sitting back all lazy like, I intend to retread and begin another part of the journey. I intend to recommit myself to life.
Life offers opportunities. We may have to look for them, create them, or sacrifice to participate in them. They are there waiting nonetheless. I want to see every outdoor drama that North Carolina has to offer. I want to read the complete Shakespearean plays. I want to learn how to play the recorder (that's about as complex as I can get with a musical instrument) and how to speak Spanish. I want to raise and sell 35 varieties of violets. I want to work in adult literacy classes and teach English as a Second Language. I want to write four fantasy novels, a trilogy of historical novels, and a pair of semi-autobiographical books. I want to write a collection of poetry and compile a selection of my favorite quotes. I want to be active in my church as long as mind and body will allow me, and when they won't, I'll commit my time to being a prayer warrior to support those who can still get about. I may have to retread several times.
A congregation must make the same re-commitment to life. The Church in its pilgrimage to be the people of God face a new set of hurdles every day. If the congregation doesn't recognize that, then they need to get out of bed occasionally and see that the world around them is changing on a regular basis. A new setting demands a renewed commitment to service in the name of the King of Kings. The reason the Church exists has never changed. We exist to glorify God. We have a multitude of methods to do that, but all methods should still result in glorifying God.
The renewed commitment demands a reevaluation of priorities and the actions related to those priorities. The commitment should always be to keep God on the throne and his Church in faithful service. Generations move into new roles and their previous roles are assumed by the next generation. The design of tasks change, the resources needed for those tasks change, and sometimes the cost of those tasks change, but they all lead to one great goal: God is glorified.
The Church must make a renewed commitment to the life purchased for it through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ every day. The temptation to compromise, grow complacent, or change priorities is always waiting. Our society demands that we allow it to set our agenda, determine our methods, and define our goals. The God of Jesus Christ usually gets modified, transformed, or left out completely when this happens.
Without a new commitment to life on a regular basis, an individual will lose purpose for life as changes within and without take place. Helplessness, despair, and a withering of the soul can be the result. Much that could be offered is wasted because change could not be accepted. The goal was so tied to the methods that the goal died with the old vision. Life need not be like that.
Likewise for the Church. As we face the changes in our world, we must make a renewed commitment to the purpose undergirding our existence. We must stay focused upon our Lord and his commission to us. We must bring glory to God. We must seek to make him proud of our efforts. We must stay faithful to our high calling.
