15 Things God Wants Older People to Do (This Is Why You’re Still Alive)
Let me tell you something I discovered after years of researching the oldest texts of humanity, something that religious institutions have kept silent about for centuries. And that’s it . God has never considered old age as an end. Old age is not a waiting room before death, it is not a dark corridor towards oblivion.
It is actually the prelude to your most important mission. And what I’m about to reveal to you today will forever change the way you view your golden years. Because you ‘re not old, you’re activated. For decades I have traveled to the most remote places on the planet. I have studied manuscripts that will never see the light of day.
I have spoken with wise men from ancient traditions who hold secrets that would shake the foundations of what we think we know about God, about life, and about the true purpose of growing old. And in each of those ancient texts, in each of those forbidden conversations, I found the same pattern. The elderly are not discarded by heaven; they are chosen for the most delicate missions.
Because? Because they have stood the test of time, because they have survived when others fell, because their souls have been tempered in the fire of experience. And now, at this precise moment in human history, when chaos is accelerating, when darkness is advancing, when new generations are lost in a sea of digital and spiritual confusion, God needs his veterans.
He needs you. Not out of pity, not out of nostalgia, but because you are a strategic weapon in a war that most cannot see. They’ve told you that you’re a burden. They’ve made you believe that your time has passed, that you’re no longer useful, that the best thing you can do is sit back, be quiet and calmly wait for the end.
But that, my friend, is the biggest lie the system has ever sold you. Because if they could keep you asleep, passive, resigned, they would have neutralized one of the most dangerous soldiers in God’s Army; modern society has built a perfect mechanism to deactivate the elderly. You retire. They isolate you, they fill your head with the idea that you deserve to rest.
And while you rest, while you sit in front of the television watching the world crumble, they advance, the dark forces advance, the confusion advances, and the next generation falls without anyone with true wisdom stopping them. But today I’m going to give you 15 missions, 15 commands that I found written in ancient codes, in hidden parables, in teachings that Jesus left and that few people know, 15 reasons why you still breathe.
And if you decide to take action, if you decide to get up from that chair and assume your role, I promise you that the last years of your life will be the most powerful. Because God doesn’t save his best soldiers for the beginning of the battle, he saves them for the end. And you, dear old man, are at the end of times.
So get ready because what you are about to hear you will not find in any Sunday sermon, you will not hear it on Christian television, it is not in self-help books. This is what God truly expects of you in this final stage of your earthly life. And believe me when I say that after this you will never look at yourself the same way in the mirror again. First mission.
Transmit the true faith, not the domesticated religion. Listen carefully, because this is crucial. God is not asking you to pass on a church membership to your children and grandchildren . He’s not asking you to bequeath them empty rituals. He is asking you to transfer fire to them, real fire, the kind of faith that burns, that transforms, that makes hell tremble.
Let me explain something I discovered in the Essene manuscripts of Cumbran, those texts that the Church prefers to keep in the shadows. The elders of those communities were not decorative figures; they were the bearers of sacred knowledge. They, and only they, could teach the deepest mysteries to the next generation.
Because? Because they had lived through those mysteries. They hadn’t read about God, they had walked with God; they hadn’t studied about miracles, they had seen miracles. And that difference, that distance between knowing about God and knowing God, is what marks the true transmission of faith. But what do we see today? We see grandparents taking their grandchildren to church as if they were taking them to the park.
Just another activity , a social habit. And then they ask themselves, why do these children abandon the faith when they grow up? I’ll tell you why. Because they never received true faith. They received religion. And religion is boring. Religion is predictable. Religion does not save anyone from emotional collapse, existential emptiness, or the darkness that lurks in this era.
But true faith, that faith you have forged in decades of spiritual battles, that faith that sustained you when you lost loved ones, when the economy collapsed, when sickness knocked on your door and you clung to God and survived. That faith is pure gold, and your descendants need it more than you can imagine. You have seen things they cannot understand because they were born into a world of immediacy, quick answers, and instant gratification, but true faith is forged in waiting, in patience, in the dark nights where God seems not to answer, but you
remain steadfast. In Proverbs, chapter 17, verse 6, it is written, “Grandchildren are a crown to the aged, and parents are the glory of their children .” But that honor doesn’t come from age; it comes from what that age brings. If your years have only accumulated wrinkles and complaints, there is no honor in that.
But if your years have accumulated spiritual wisdom, victory upon victory, testimony upon testimony, then you are a crown, a crown that must be placed upon the heads of the next generation. So this is your first mission. Don’t keep your stories to yourself; don’t take to the grave the miracles you witnessed, the prayers that were answered, the moments when God spoke to you in secret.
Tell it, write it down, record it— do it however you can, but don’t let your experience with God die with you. Because when an elderly person dies without passing on their faith, an entire library of divine encounters that could have saved someone else dies with them. And let me be brutally honest with you: if you don’t pass on true faith, the world will pass it on to them.
Lies. The system will tell them that God does n’t exist. Social media will tell them that truth is relative. Modern culture will tell them that they are their own god. And without your voice, without your testimony, without the living evidence that God is real because you have experienced Him, they will have no armor against those lies.
In my research on the life of Jesus, especially those hidden years that are never told, I discovered something fascinating. Jesus was raised by elders. The wise men of Israel, those who knew the prophecies, who had studied the stars, who awaited the Messiah, were the ones who recognized Him first. Anna, the 84-year-old prophetess, was one of the first to declare who that child was in the temple.
She didn’t remain silent; she didn’t say, “I’m too old for these things.” No, she proclaimed the truth, and that proclamation was recorded for eternity. You have that same calling: to proclaim, to testify, to pass on, not with pretty words and rehearsed sermons, but with the raw truth of what you have lived. With the scars that prove you survived, with the tears that show you wept at God’s feet and He lifted you up.
That is the faith they need. That is the inheritance worth more than any property, any bank account, any material possession you could leave them. And if you think it’s too late and there’s no time left, let me remind you of something. In the kingdom of God, it’s never too late to sow truth. A grandfather who prays, even on his deathbed, can break generational chains.
A grandmother who blesses with spiritual authority can change the destiny of an entire family. Don’t underestimate the power within you, because it’s not your power; it’s the power of God dwelling in a vessel that has been tested and proven by time. Second mission: Speak life, not death, because your words still move mountains.
I’m going to tell you something I discovered while studying the original Aramaic texts of the New Testament, the language Jesus actually spoke, which contains nuances that modern translations have lost. In Aramaic, the word translated as “speak” has a root meaning “create.” Speaking is creating. Every word that comes out of your mouth is not just a sound that dissipates into thin air.
It is a seed planted in spiritual reality that sooner or later bears fruit. Jesus said it with absolute clarity in Matthew 12:36: “ For every careless word that people speak, they will give account on the day of judgment.” Careless words. That is, words without purpose, careless words, words we utter without thinking.
And if Jesus warned about this, it is because words have eternal weight. Now, here comes what most people ignore. The words of an elder carry more weight, not because God shows favoritism, but because time has given them authority. Have you lived long enough for your words to be backed by experience? Have you walked long enough for your voice to have credibility? And in the spiritual realm, that matters, but here lies the danger.
Many elders use that power to curse without realizing it. They have lived through so much pain, so much disappointment, so much weariness, that their mouths have become sources of complaints, criticisms, and pronouncements. Negative. Everything is worse. Nothing is the same anymore. This generation is lost.
There is no hope. And every time they say that, they are prophesying destruction. They are using their spiritual authority to align the future with darkness. Do you understand the gravity of this? God has given you decades of life not to curse the land in your later years, but to bless it. In the book of Numbers, chapter 6, there is the priestly blessing that God gave Aaron to pronounce over the people.
It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. That blessing had power because it came from someone with spiritual authority. And you, elder of God, have that same authority. When you bless your children, when you declare prosperity over your grandchildren, when you prophesy healing over your family, when you proclaim revival over your community, you are activating heavenly forces that are moving to fulfill [the promises made].
Those words. But the opposite is also true. When you curse, when you complain, when you pronounce failure with your mouth, you are also activating forces, but from the dark side. During my time in Israel, I interviewed elderly rabbis who taught me something I will never forget. In Jewish tradition, the blessing of parents, especially grandparents, is considered one of the most powerful forces in the universe.
There are entire families who gather to receive the blessing of the patriarch or matriarch before undertaking any important project, because they know, they understand that the words of a righteous elder open doors in heaven. And I ask myself, when was the last time you blessed with true intention? When was the last time you laid your hands on the head of a young person and declared the destiny God has for them? Or have you allowed pain, bitterness, and cynicism to rob you of that ministry? Let me tell you something else. In the book of Job,
which is one of the oldest texts in the Bible, we see something fascinating. Job was An old man faced his most terrible crisis. He lost everything. His children, his health, his wealth, and his friends came to comfort him, but in reality, they came to judge him, to point fingers, to curse his situation with poisonous words.
But Job, despite everything, did not curse God. And in the end, when God restored Job, the Bible says that he lived 140 more years and saw his children and his children’s children to the fourth generation. And he died old and full of days, not empty, not bitter, not resentful, but full, because he used his last years to bless, not to curse.
That must be your choice. Every morning when you open your eyes, you have a decision to make. Am I going to speak life or am I going to speak death? Am I going to prophesy hope or am I going to prophesy despair? Am I going to be a channel of blessing or a channel of complaint? And don’t misunderstand me.
I’m not asking you to deny reality. I’m not asking you to pretend that everything is okay when it’s not. It is. I’m asking you to use your mouth to change that reality, not to reinforce it. The prophets of the Bible didn’t deny crises; they faced them, but they did so by declaring what God was going to do, not what the enemy was doing.
Isaiah didn’t say, “All is lost.” He said, “Behold, I am doing a new thing.” Jeremiah didn’t say, “There is no hope left.” He said, “For I know the plans I have for you,” he said, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” These men spoke in the midst of ruins. They spoke when all seemed lost, but they spoke life, and that life was manifested. Now it’s your turn.
God has kept you alive because your voice still has a purpose. Don’t waste it on gossip, don’t waste it on complaining. Don’t waste it on destructive criticism of young people, of the church, of the world. Use your voice to declare what heaven says. And if you don’t know what heaven says, then be silent until you do.
Know this, because silence is better than a curse. But when you know, when you have a word from God, when you feel that burden in your spirit, open your mouth and speak that word with authority. Don’t be afraid, don’t doubt, don’t apologize. Simply speak what God has shown you and watch how things begin to move.
Third mission: Don’t retire from service because God never signed your retirement letter. Let me tell you something that left me speechless when I discovered it. I was researching the Levitical ministry in the Old Testament, those priests who served in the temple, and I found something that most people overlook. In Numbers 8:25, it says that the Levites were to retire from active service at 50 years old.
When I read that, I thought, well, so God did command retirement. But when I delved deeper into the original Hebrew text , I discovered something amazing. The word translated as “retire” doesn’t mean to stop working; it means to change roles. The Levites over 50 years old didn’t go home to rest; they changed roles. They no longer did They endured the heavy physical labor of carrying the tabernacle through the desert, but they also assumed roles of counseling, mentoring, and supervising the younger ones.
They didn’t retire; they journeyed on. And that’s the key that the modern world has completely lost. Society tells you, “At 65 you retire, they give you a pension, a farewell party, and send you home as if your purpose had been fulfilled.” But God does not operate that way. In the kingdom of God there is no retirement age, there is a transformation of assignments.
Perhaps you no longer preach from the pulpit, but you can intercede from your bedroom. You may no longer lead meetings, but you can mentor those who do . You may no longer travel on missions, but you can support missionaries with your prayers. And let me tell you something I discovered during my years of research.
The prayers of the elderly carry a different weight in heaven. It’s not that God loves the elderly more, but there is something in the spirit of someone who has walked with God for decades that produces a depth of intercession that young people have not yet reached. Think of Anna, the prophetess, whom I mentioned earlier. The Bible says that he was 84 years old and that he did not leave the temple serving night and day with fasting and prayers, 84 years.
And she wasn’t retired; she was more spiritually active than most people in their 30s. And it was she, not the young priests, who recognized the Messiah when they first saw him . It was his spirit of intercession, forged in decades of seeking God, that gave him the eyes to see what others did not see. How many elderly people today are wasting that same potential watching soap operas and news programs instead of standing in the gap interceding for their family, their nation, and the church? Isn’t it a trial? It’s a legitimate question.
Because if the enemy can convince you that you no longer have anything to contribute, then they have neutralized one of their greatest adversaries. During my research on the first centuries of Christianity, I discovered that the early churches had a specific role for elders.
They weren’t decorations, they were the government. Uh, the presbyters, which literally means elders, were the ones who made the doctrinal decisions, who resolved conflicts, who guided the community. And they didn’t do it because they had academic degrees. They did it because they had experience, because they had faced persecution, because they had seen martyrs die for the faith, because they had walked with Christ for decades, and their advice was time-tested.
Today that has been reversed. Today we live in a culture that idolizes youth and marginalizes the elderly. And the Church has sadly imitated that culture instead of contradicting it. Modern churches prefer young, dynamic, charismatic leaders, and there is nothing wrong with youth. But when the elderly are displaced, when they are asked to pass the torch and then asked to disappear, something is lost.
Wisdom is lost, perspective is lost, depth is lost. Do you know what else is lost? Memory. The elderly are the living memory of what God has done. They remember the revivals. They remember how God moved in the past. They remember the lessons the Church learned at the cost of pain and error. And when that memory disappears, the Church repeats the same mistakes over and over again.
In Deuteronomy 327, Moses says, “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will tell you, ask your elders and they will tell you; ask your elders.” He’s not saying, “Ignore your elders,” he ‘s not saying thank your elders for their service and let them rest.
He’s saying, “Ask them because they know things you don’t know.” So if you’re an old person and you’ve believed the lie that you’re no longer useful, that you have nothing left to offer, that it’s time to retire and let others do it, wake up, because that’s not the voice of God, okay? That is the voice of a culture that doesn’t know what to do with wisdom.
God still needs you on the front lines, maybe not with the same physical energy, but with something much more powerful. Spiritual authority forged in fire. Never underestimate the power of an old man on his knees. Never underestimate the impact of an elder who declares the word of God with conviction. Never underestimate the influence of an elderly person who refuses to give up, who refuses to disconnect, who refuses to be irrelevant.
God is not finished with you, and until He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant, your work is not complete.” Fourth mission. Forgive completely because you cannot enter heaven carrying earthly hatred. This is something that took me years of research to understand, and it was in the mountains of Tibet, of all places, where I finally understood it.
I was interviewing an elderly Buddhist monk , a man who had lived for over 90 years and whose presence emanated a peace I had never felt before. I asked him what his secret was and he told me something I will never forget. I have forgiven everyone, even those who destroyed my monastery and killed my brothers, because carrying hatred is like drinking poison hoping the other person will die.
When I returned to studying the teachings of Jesus with that perspective, everything took on a new meaning. Jesus didn’t suggest forgiveness, he commanded it. Not as a favor we do for the one who hurt us, but as a liberation we give ourselves. In Matthew 6:14, Jesus is brutally clear, because if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you .
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. There is no ambiguity there, no room for excuses. You either forgive or you are not forgiven. And what makes this even more critical is that as an elderly person you are closer to the moment when you will have to stand before God.
It’s not meant to scare you, it’s meant to wake you up, because you can’t reach the gates of heaven with a heart full of resentment, bitterness, and hatred. You cannot stand face to face with the God who forgave all your sins while you refuse to forgive someone who hurt you. The irony is devastating. During my research on the last words of people on their deathbed, I found a disturbing pattern.
Those who died in peace were those who had forgiven. Those who died in emotional agony, even if their body no longer felt physical pain, were those who clung to old grudges. One of the most shocking cases was that of an 87- year-old man who refused to speak to his son for 40 years over an inheritance dispute. 40 years old.
When that man was in his final days, his family begged him to forgive, to make peace with his son. He refused. He died alone, bitter, his face contorted in a grimace of pain that was not physical. His son arrived at the funeral and cried not for the father he lost, but for the father he never had because of foolish pride.
And I wonder, how many elderly people today are repeating that story? How many are carrying wounds from 20, 30, 40 years ago and refuse to let them go? The excuse is always the same. You don’t know what they did to me. You’re right. I don’t know, but God does. And even knowing what they did to you, he commands you to forgive.
Not because the other person deserves it, but because you deserve to be free. Forgiveness is not a gift for the person who hurt you, it’s a gift for yourself. In my study of the Greek text of the New Testament, I discovered something fascinating about the word that is translated as forgiveness. The Greek word is afiemi, which literally means to let go, to release, to let go.
When you forgive, you are not saying that what they did to you was okay. You’re saying, “I’m not going to carry this anymore, I’m letting go, I’m releasing it. It no longer has power over me.” And that’s the key. As long as you don’t forgive, that person, that event, that wound, has power over you. It controls you from the past, steals your present, contaminates your future, but when you forgive you break those chains.
And what I discovered in the apocryphal texts, those books that did not make it into the official Bible, but which contain valuable teachings, is that forgiveness has an effect not only in this life, but in eternity. There is a text called the Gospel of Philip that says something provocative. He who does not forgive creates a knot in his soul that not even death can untie. Think about that.
A knot that not even death can untie. Which means that if you die without forgiving, that bitterness accompanies you to the other side. I’m not saying this is official doctrine. I’m telling you that it’s something you should seriously consider. Do you really want to risk entering eternity? carrying poison in your heart. I know that forgiving isn’t easy.
If it were easy, Jesus wouldn’t have to order it. Forgive those who betrayed you, those who abused you, those who abandoned you, those who destroyed your life. It is one of the most difficult things a human being can do, but it is also one of the most powerful. Because when you forgive the unforgivable, you are acting like God.
You are imitating the one who forgave you when you were unforgivable. And let me be clear, forgiving does not mean reconciling. Forgiving does not mean allowing that person to hurt you again. Forgiving does not mean forgetting what happened. Forgiveness means relinquishing the right to revenge. It means surrendering that debt to God.
It means saying, “I am not the judge. God is the judge, and I trust that He will bring justice in His own way and in His own time.” In Romans 12:19, Paul writes, “Do not take revenge , my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.
” “Leave room for God’s wrath .” That is , get out of the way, let God be God, and focus on freeing yourself. So I ask you, who do you need to forgive? Don’t answer me, answer yourself. In the stillness of your heart, what names appear? What faces do you see? What wounds still bleed when you touch them? Those are the ones you need to take to the foot of the cross.
And don’t wait until you feel ready, because you will never feel ready. Forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. Decide today. Say out loud, “I forgive so-and-so, I release them, I set them free, they no longer have power over me.” And repeat it every time the pain returns. Because forgiveness is not a one-time act, it’s a process.
It’s a battle you will have to fight every time the memory comes back. But I promise you this: Every time you choose to forgive, you become freer. And when you finally reach the other side, when you stand before God, you will be able to look Him in the eye. Shameless, because you will have imitated his heart. Fifth mission.
Keep the spiritual fire burning. Don’t let routine extinguish your flame. Let me tell you a story that broke my heart. I met a 78-year-old man who had been a pastor for 50 years. 50 years serving God, preaching, praying for the sick, baptizing, marrying couples, burying the dead. Half a century of ministry. When I interviewed him, I expected to find a man full of passion, of fire, with recent testimonies of God’s presence.
But what I found left me frozen. He told me with a resignation that hurt to hear, “I don’t feel anything anymore. I pray, but it ‘s mechanical. I read the Bible, but it no longer moves me . I go to church, but it’s just out of habit. The fire went out years ago, and I don’t know how to relight it.
” And I asked him, “When was the last time you fasted? When was the last time you stayed in prayer until you heard God’s voice?” The last time he withdrew from the noise and desperately sought God, he looked at me confused, as if those questions were absurd. At my age he told me, “I no longer have the strength for that.
” I already paid my fee. I did my part, and that’s where the problem was. He had confused walking with God with a race with a goal, as if after a certain number of years or services rendered one could switch to autopilot mode. But God does not operate that way. The relationship with God is not an employment contract with a retirement clause.
It is an eternal romance that is renewed every day. In Psalm 92 versus 12:14, the psalmist writes, “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.
They will be fresh and green, not withered, not dry, vigorous, alive, fresh, but that requires maintenance. A fire doesn’t keep itself going . You need to add wood, you need to fan the flames, you need to protect it from the wind. And the same is true of your spiritual fire. During my years researching Christian mysticism, I discovered the Desert Fathers, those monks who withdrew to the Egyptian desert in the early centuries of Christianity.
And there was a story told about a 90-year-old monk named Anthony. Someone asked him, “Don’t you get tired of praying so much?” Don’t you get tired of fasting? “Don’t you deserve to rest?” And Antonio replied, “The day I stop praying with hunger is the day my soul will begin to die, and I would rather die physically than die spiritually.
” That old man understood something many today have forgotten. The danger isn’t in the weariness of the body. The danger is in the weariness of the soul. Because when your soul grows weary, when your spirit grows cold, when religious routine replaces genuine relationship, you begin to die spiritually while your body continues to breathe.
And that is the most tragic death of all. In Revelation, chapter 3, Jesus speaks to the church in Ephesus, a church that did everything right, worked hard, was doctrinally sound, didn’t tolerate evil, did everything a church is supposed to do. But Jesus tells them, “I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first.
” You have forsaken your first love— not that you lost it, but that you abandoned it , neglected it.” And Jesus warns them, “Repent and do the works you did at first, or I will come to you soon and remove your lampstand from its place.” I will remove your lampstand, that is, I will remove my presence, my anointing, my blessing.
Because God doesn’t bless religion, He blesses the relationship. And if your relationship with God has become a checklist of religious activities without real passion, without genuine seeking, without spiritual hunger, then you are in danger. It doesn’t matter how many years you have served, it doesn’t matter how much you know about the Bible.
If the fire has gone out, you need to return to the altar. And how do you do that? How do you rekindle the fire after years of dryness? First, you have to acknowledge that you lost it. You can’t fix a problem you don’t admit exists. If you are reading this and you know deep in your heart that your relationship with God has grown cold, admit it. Not to me, but to Him.
of God. Second, you have to do what you did at the beginning. Jesus told the Ephesians, “Do the first works. What were you doing when you first met God? How much time did you spend praying? How did you read the Bible? With what desperation did he seek her presence? Go back to that. Third, you have to break the routine.
Sometimes the problem isn’t that you stopped looking for God, it’s that you look for Him in the same boring way every day. Change the place where you pray, change the time, change the method. You have always prayed sitting down, pray on your knees. You have always prayed in silence, pray out loud. You have always prayed with words, pray in silence.
Experience, explore, rediscover God as if it were the first time. And fourth, fast. I know that at your age you may not be able to do long fasts without affecting your health, but you can do something. Even if it’s just for one day, even if it’s skipping a meal. Fasting is not about manipulating God, it’s about silencing your flesh and sharpening your spirit.
It’s to remind your soul that there are more important things than food. In the book of Joel, chapter 2, God calls for a collective fast and says something powerful in verse 28. And after this I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. After this, after the fasting, after returning to the Lord with all your heart, then comes revival.
Don’t settle for lukewarm faith. Don’t settle for being a Christian in name only. Don’t settle for religion without connection, because time is running out and when your last day comes, the only thing that will matter is not how many times you went to church, but how deeply you came to know God. Sixth mission.
Prepare for eternity, not just the funeral. I’m going to be direct with you because there’s no time for evasions. You know that you have less time left here than you have already lived. That’s not a comfortable truth, but it’s the truth. To pretend otherwise is to live in a dangerous illusion. The question is not whether you are going to die.
The question is, are you ready for what comes next? And I’m not referring to whether you have funeral insurance. I’m not referring to whether you’ve already chosen the coffin or the music for your service. I mean, have you prepared your soul? Because the funeral is for those who remain. But eternity is yours.
During my years researching near- death experiences, I interviewed hundreds of people who had been declared clinically dead and then returned. And there are patterns that repeat themselves over and over again. One of the most impactful is what they call the life review. Almost all report that at the moment of death they witnessed a complete review of their lives.
Every action, every word, every thought, every moment they could have helped someone and didn’t . Every time they chose selfishness over love, everything was reviewed, not from their own perspective, but from the perspective of how they affected others. They felt the pain they caused, they felt the joy they gave.
It was an experience of absolute truth where there was no room for excuses, justifications, or self-deception. Now , these are not biblical testimonies, but they resonate powerfully with what the Bible says. In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due for what we have done while in the body, whether good or evil—all, not some, but all.
” And this isn’t about determining whether you are saved or not. If you have placed your faith in Christ, your salvation is assured. But there will be a judgment on how you lived out that salvation, on what you did with the time, talents, resources, and opportunities God gave you. And the reward or loss in eternity will be determined based on that.
Jesus spoke more about eternal judgment and rewards than about heaven itself. In the parable of the talents, the servant who buried his talent instead of multiplying it wasn’t punished with hell, but he was called a wicked and slothful servant and lost his reward. In the parable of the ten virgins, five were wise and five were foolish.
The foolish ones didn’t lose their salvation, but they lost the wedding. They lost the privilege, they lost the intimacy with the Bridegroom. These aren’t topics that are preached about much today because they ‘re uncomfortable, because the modern Church prefers to talk only about grace, only about love, only about acceptance, and all of that is true and beautiful, but it’s not the whole truth.
The full truth includes accountability, judgment, and eternal consequences for how we live. So I ask you, if you were to die today, if your soul were called tonight, would you be ready? I’m not asking if you would go to heaven. I’m asking if you would be ready to face the review of your life, to give an account of every wasted day, every missed opportunity to speak of Christ, every moment you chose comfort over obedience, every time you were silent when you should have spoken, every time you judged when you should have loved. This isn’t to
condemn you; it’s to wake you up, because there is still time, you can still make things right, you can still change the course of your eternity. In the last few years of my life, I’ve developed a practice that keeps me focused. Every night before I go to sleep, I I ask myself, if God were to call me now, would I be satisfied with how I lived this day? Not every day is the answer yes, but that question keeps me honest, keeps me alert, reminds me that every day matters, that there are no filler days in God’s plan.
Every sunrise is an opportunity, and every sunset is a judgment. In Psalm 90:12 , Moses prays, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Let us number our days, for the days are numbered. We don’t know how many are left, but we know they are finite. And living them with that awareness, with that urgency, transforms everything.
So my advice to you, precious elder of God, is this: Live each day as if it were your last. Not with fear, but with intention; not with panic, but with purpose. Fix what is broken. Ask for forgiveness where you need to ask. Offer forgiveness where you need to offer it. Say “I love you” to those who need to hear it.
Share your faith with those who do n’t yet have it. Pray for the lost. Bless those who They surround you. And when that last day arrives, when you close your eyes for the last time on this earth, may you do so with a smile, because you lived well, because you loved well, because you served well, and because you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that on the other side awaits you not an angry judge, but a proud father who will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your master.
” Seventh mission: Bless the next generation, don’t curse them with criticism. There is something I have observed in almost every culture I have visited, and it is this: Elders tend to do one of two things with young people. They either bless and empower them, or they criticize and invalidate them. There is no middle ground.
You are either a bridge to their future or a wall against their potential. And the problem is that many elders, without realizing it, have become walls. Every time you say, “This generation is lost,” you are cursing. Every time you say, ” Young people today are good for nothing,” you are cursing. Every time you compare their If you compare the world to yours and conclude that everything was better before, you’re closing the door to its potential.
And maybe you think you’re just being realistic, just telling the truth. But let me show you something I found in ancient texts. In the book of Genesis, there’s a story that many know, but few deeply understand. It’s the story of Noah after the flood. Noah gets drunk, lies naked in his tent, and one of his sons, Ham, sees him and mocks him.
He tells his brothers what he saw. The other two sons, Shem and Japheth, walk back to cover him without seeing him, showing respect. When Noah wakes up and learns what happened, he curses Canaan, Ham’s son, and that curse is fulfilled through generations, but he blesses Shem and Japheth, and their lines prosper.
Now, the lesson here isn’t about Noah’s nakedness or drunkenness . The lesson is about the importance of honoring or dishonoring. Ham dishonored his The father and his descendants suffered the consequences. Shem and Japheth honored their father, and their descendants were blessed. The same principle applies in reverse. When elders dishonor the young, when they ridicule them, when they despise them, that attitude has generational consequences.
But when elders honor the young, when they see their potential, even if it has not yet manifested, when they bless them with their words and prayers, that blessing also has generational consequences. In the book of Malachi, the last verse of the Old Testament, there is a powerful prophecy. It says, “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.
” Turning the heart—not just physical presence, not just tolerance, but the heart, that is, genuine affection, real interest, emotional and spiritual investment. And this prophecy indicates that when that connection is broken, when the elders disconnect from the young and vice versa, the land itself suffers. We are living that reality today.
We live in a society where generations are more divided than ever. Young people don’t respect their elders. Their elders don’t understand their youth, and both have given up trying to connect. But God is calling the elders to break that cycle. Don’t wait for young people to come to you. Go to them.
Don’t wait for them to seek you out. Seek them out. Don’t wait for them to ask for advice. Offer it, and do so not with an attitude of superiority, not with a ” in my day” attitude, but with humility, with genuine interest in their lives, their struggles, their dreams. During my time researching indigenous communities in Latin America, I discovered something beautiful.
In many of those cultures, the elders are the ones who initiate young people into adulthood. There are ceremonies, rituals where the elders publicly bless the young people and declare them ready for their roles in the community. And those blessings aren’t superficial; they are prophetic.
The elders see something in those young people that they themselves don’t yet see, and they declare it aloud. And that declaration becomes a North, in an identity, in a destiny. Imagine if Christian grandparents did that with their grandchildren. Imagine if instead of saying, “I don’t know what will become of you,” they said, “I see greatness in you.
” I see God’s calling in your life. I see that you will be used powerfully for His kingdom. Imagine how that would change that young man’s trajectory. In the Bible, when Isaac blessed Jacob, albeit through deception, that blessing was so powerful that Esau, the son who was supposed to receive it, could no longer be blessed in the same way.
Isaac said to him , “Behold, I have made him your Lord. What? Well, I will now make you my son.” The Father’s blessing carried such weight that it defined destinies. You have that same power. Your words about the young people in your family, your church, your community have spiritual weight. You can use them to open doors or to close them, to empower or to invalidate, to propel or to hold back.
So, what will you choose? Will you be the grandfather who says, “Those kids are hopeless?” Or, “Will you be the grandfather who says, “God has a powerful plan for each of you?” Are you going to be the grandmother who criticizes every decision they make? Or are you going to be the grandmother who prays for them every day and reminds them that they are loved and capable? The choice is yours, but let it be clear, your silence is also a choice.
If you see potential in a young person and don’t tell them , you are depriving them of something that could change their life. So speak, bless, prophesy, declare, lay your hands on their heads and pray for them with faith. Believe in them when they cannot believe in themselves. Be the anchor that keeps them steady when life’s storms shake them, because that is your mission: not to criticize, but to bless.
Eighth mission, pray without ceasing because your intercession sustains the world more than you believe. Let me reveal something I discovered in my years of research on prayer. Something that most believers are unaware of, but that Christian mystics of all ages have understood. Prayer is not just talking to God, it is participating in the governance of the universe.
I know it sounds exaggerated, but let me explain. In Revelation 5:8, John has a vision of the throne of God and describes the 24 elders who are around the throne having golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Prayers are presented before God like incense. They are not ignored, they do not disappear into thin air, they are collected, stored, presented.
Later, in Revelation 8 versus 3 to 4, we see an angel taking a golden censer. He fills it with the prayers of the saints and mixes it with fire from the altar. Then he throws it to the earth and the text says that there was thunder and voices and lightning and an earthquake. The prayers caused an earthquake.
Do you understand what this means? Your prayers are not passive; they are not simply hopeful requests that God might hear. They are weapons. They are forces, they are catalysts for divine intervention. And when an elderly person prays, when someone who has walked with God for decades kneels and cries out, that prayer carries a different weight.
Not because God is biased, but because that prayer comes from someone who has seen God answer before. It comes from someone whose faith has been tested and has not been broken. During my research on Christian monasticism, I spent time in monasteries where monks spend most of their day in prayer. And at first I must admit that it seemed like a waste of time to me because they’re not out there doing something useful, I thought.
But an old monk told me something that changed my perspective. We are the invisible wall that holds up this world. Every hour we spend in prayer is an hour in which the forces of chaos are contained. At first I thought it was spiritual arrogance. How could they believe that their prayers had so much power? But then I remembered something the prophet Ezekiel said in chapter 22, verse 30.
God says, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” God was looking for intercessors, people who would pray, who would stand in the gap, and He didn’t find enough. And the result was destruction. Do you see the implication? God allows the prayers of the saints to influence the destiny of nations.
It’s not that God is weak and needs our help. It’s that He has established a system where our voluntary cooperation, expressed through prayer, is part of the plan. And you, elderly man, have time to pray like no one else does. You ’re no longer stuck in 8-hour jobs. You ’re no longer raising toddlers who demand constant attention.
You have hours available that others don’t. And the question is, what are you doing with that time? Are you using it to watch TV, to be entertained, or are you using it to Standing in the gap? The apostle Paul, in his last days, wrote to Timothy, “I solemnly charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ to preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season.
” And in another letter he wrote, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” Praying at all times, not occasionally, at all times. And if anyone can do that, it’s someone who has the time. But it’s not just about quantity; it’s about quality. It’s about praying with faith, with persistence, with spiritual authority.
Jesus told a parable about a widow who persisted before an unjust judge until he granted her justice. And he concluded by saying, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” Day and night, that’s the kind of prayer that moves heaven. Not lukewarm 2-minute prayers before bed, but deep, persistent, passionate intercession.
So I challenge you. Become a prayer warrior. Adopt people, causes, nations on your prayer list. Intercede for the missionaries. Intercede for the pastors, intercede for the lost, intercede for the broken families, intercede for the sick. And don’t just say, “God, bless them.” Pray with specificity, pray with faith, pray until you feel something has changed in your spirit, because your prayers are being kept in golden bowls in heaven, and the day will come when those bowls will be poured out on the earth.
And what you prayed in secret will be revealed publicly. You won’t see everything before you die. But believe me when I say that in eternity, when you see the full fruit of your prayers, you will rejoice in every hour you spent on your knees. Ninth mission. Be a mentor to someone.
Don’t take your wisdom to the grave. One of the greatest tragedies I have witnessed in my life is seeing elderly people die without having passed on what they knew. It’s like watching a library burn down. Every elderly person who dies without having taught someone younger is an incalculable loss of knowledge, experience, and perspective.
In traditional African cultures, there’s a proverb that says, “When an elder dies, a library burns down.” It’s not just a person who is lost; an entire universe of accumulated wisdom is lost. And that’s exactly what’s happening in the Western Church today. Elders are retiring, isolating themselves, and taking their life lessons to the grave.
Meanwhile, the next generation is making the same mistakes they made, stumbling over the same stones, and facing the same temptations with no one to warn them. In the book of Titus, Paul gives specific instructions about the role of elders in the Church. In chapter 2, verses 3-5, he says, “Likewise, older women are to be reverent in their behavior, teachers of what is good, and they are to train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure , busy at home, kind, and submissive to their husbands.”
And then in the following verses, he gives similar instructions for elders to teach the younger ones. Teach. That’s the key word. Elders are not called to retire; they are called to teach, to pass on knowledge, to invest in the next generation. But here’s the problem. Many elders don’t feel qualified to teach.
They think that only those with degrees, those who studied at seminary, those who hold official positions, are the ones who can teach. And that’s a devastating lie, because the most powerful teaching doesn’t come from books; it comes from life. I’ve learned more from conversations with wise elders than from years at universities.
I’ve learned more from listening to the testimonies of people who went through fire and survived than from reading theological treatises. Because it’s one thing to know about God, and another thing to know God. And elders who have walked with God for decades know things that young people need to learn. During my time researching the rabbinical schools of Judaism, I discovered something fascinating.
In that tradition, the teacher- disciple relationship was sacred. A young rabbi did n’t just study with a teacher; he lived with him, observed him, and imitated him. He didn’t just learn what the teacher taught; he learned how. He lived. And that kind of learning, that life-to-life transfer, is what the church has lost.
Today it’s all information, conferences, seminars, books, and all that is fine, but it doesn’t replace mentoring, it doesn’t replace an elder who takes a young person under his wing and says, “Walk with me, learn from me, let me show you how this is lived.” So I ask you, “Do you have a disciple?” There is someone younger in whom you are investing your time, your wisdom, your experience.
It doesn’t have to be something formal. You don’t have to be a pastor or official leader. It could be your grandson, it could be a young person from your church, it could be a neighbor. What matters is not the title, what matters is the intention, the willingness to say, “I know things you need to know and I’m not going to let my knowledge die with me.
” And if you don’t know where to start, simply begin by sharing your story. Share your failures. Share your victories. Share the lessons you learned. Don’t preach, converse; do n’t sermonize, connect; don’t impose, invite and observe how God uses your words to shape a life, because that is exactly what He will do. Proverbs 271 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
” It takes friction to sharpen; it takes contact. It takes interaction. You can’t sharpen from a distance; you can’t sharpen from the comfort of your isolation. You have to get involved, and yes, it will take time, it will take patience, it will take you out of your comfort zone, but I promise you it will be worth it because there is no more profitable investment than investing in a human life.
The money you leave behind will be spent, the property you leave behind will be sold, but the life you shape, the character you help form, the faith you help strengthen—that is eternal. That transcends your death. That continues to bear fruit decades after you are gone. So find someone, choose someone, and begin. Don’t wait for them to approach you.
You reach out, and when you do, don’t present yourself as the expert who has all the answers. Present yourself as the traveler who has walked the path before and can Point out the dangers and the shortcuts. That humility, that authenticity, is what will open that young person’s heart to receive what you have to give. Tenth mission.
Take care of your body as best you can because it is the temple where God dwells. I know this point may sound superficial compared to the others, but it is not. In fact, it is profoundly spiritual. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.
” Therefore, glorify God in your body. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t, it is present as long as you breathe, as long as your heart beats, your body remains sacred. And how you take care of it reflects how you value that truth. However, I understand that at your age the body no longer responds as it once did.
I understand that there are pains, limitations, illnesses. I ‘m not asking you to run marathons. I am asking you to do what you can to keep this temple in the best possible condition, because here is the reality. A neglected body limits your ability to serve. If you eat poorly, if you don’t move, if you don’t take care of your health, you will reach a point where you won’t be able to pray because the pain distracts you.
You won’t be able to serve because you don’t have energy. You will not be able to concentrate on the Bible because your mind is clouded. I have met elderly people who have resigned themselves, who have decided that it is no longer worth taking care of themselves. In short, “I’m already old, they say, what’s the point now? ” And that attitude is exactly what the enemy wants, because if he can neutralize you physically, he can neutralize your ability to fulfill the missions God has given you.
During my travels in Asia, I spent time with Buddhist and Taoist monks who practice bodily disciplines specifically to prolong their ability to meditate and pray. And although I don’t share his theology, I admire his discipline. They understand that the body and spirit are connected, that you cannot disconnect one from the other, and that taking care of the body is not vanity, it is stewardship.
In Psalm 139:14, David declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Your body, even in its aging state, is still a marvelous work of God. Every cell, every organ, every system is designed with a complexity that defies comprehension. And God entrusted it to you, not to be destroyed through negligence, but to be managed with gratitude.
So move, even if it’s just a short walk each day. Eat better—not perfectly, but better. Get enough sleep. Stay hydrated, take your medications, see your doctor, get physical therapy if you need it, and above all, don’t give up, because while there is breath, there is hope. While there is life, there is purpose.
And taking care of your body is part of honoring that purpose. There is a story in the Jewish Talmud about an elderly rabbi named Gilel. Once, his students saw him going to the public baths and asked him where he was going . He replied, “I am going to fulfill a commandment.” Confused, they asked him what commandment he could possibly be fulfilling by bathing, and he replied, “If the statues of kings are cleaned and cared for, how much more should I care for my body, which was created in the image of God.” That’s the right perspective. You
don’t care for your body out of vanity; you care for it because it is the image of God, because God Himself chose to dwell in it, and that gives it eternal value. Also, think about this. Every additional year you live in health and clarity is an additional year in which you can pray, bless, teach, and love.
It’s another year of impact. It’s another year of fulfilling your purpose. Isn’t it worth the effort to eat better and move a little to gain that? So today, make a decision—a small decision—to take better care of yourself. It doesn’t have to be radical, just consistent. And watch as God honors that discipline with more energy, more clarity, more years of service, because He needs you functioning until your last day.
Eleventh mission: Guard your testimony, because your reputation is part of your legacy. There is a verse in Ecclesiastes 7 against one who says, “Better is a good name than a good reputation, and better the day of death than the day of birth. A good name, your reputation, your testimony are better.
On the day of your death, what will remain will not be your possessions, your achievements, or even your knowledge. What will remain is your name and what that name means to those who hear it. During my years as a researcher I interviewed hundreds of people and there was one pattern that always caught my attention. When someone mentioned an elderly person who had passed away, the conversation always took one of two paths.
Either the person’s eyes lit up and they began to tell beautiful stories of love, wisdom, and generosity, or their eyes darkened. And the topic changed quickly, as if there was nothing good to say. Your testimony is your legacy. And that testimony is built day by day, decision by decision, word by word. It is not built at the end.
You can’t live a mediocre or hypocritical life for decades and then on your deathbed try to fix everything. The Bible is full of examples of people who destroyed their testimony in the last years of their lives. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, ended his days worshipping idols to please his foreign wives.
King Saul, who began humble and anointed, ended up consulting witches and dying in battle because God had abandoned him. Samson, the strongest man in Israel, ended up blind and enslaved because he played with his calling. And then there are those who ended up well. Abraham, who obeyed even in his old age.
Moses, who led until his last day. Joshua, who declared in his old age, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The difference between them wasn’t how they started, it was how they finished. And you, dear elder, are in the home stretch. You are writing the final chapters of your story, and the question is, how do you want it to end? There are three areas where your testimony is tested in old age.
First, integrity. Are you still honest when no one is watching? Do you still tell the truth even when it would be easier to lie? Do you still keep your word even when it’s difficult? The temptation in old age is to lower your standards. “I ‘m old now, it doesn’t matter anymore,” but it does matter.
It matters until your last breath. Second, holiness. Are you still guarding yourself against moral corruption? Are you still watching your eyes, your thoughts, your actions? I have known elderly people who, believing they were past the age of temptation, let their guard down and fell. Because the flesh has no retirement age.
The enemy doesn’t stop attacking just because you’ve grown old. Third, love. Are you still kind? Are you still generous? Or have you become bitter, selfish, and critical? Old age can harden or soften the heart. The choice is yours. In Philippians 3:13, Paul wrote, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it .
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I continue towards the goal. He didn’t stop, he didn’t give up, he didn’t let his guard down. He pressed on to the end, and in his last letter from prison, knowing his execution was imminent, he wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith. I have kept the faith. That is a good testimony. That is a worthy legacy. So I encourage you. Guard your testimony zealously. Don’t let weariness, pain, or disappointment cause you to compromise what you have built over decades. Don’t let a bad moment at the end ruin a good journey, because your testimony is not just for you; it is for your family, for your church, for those who will come after you , who will ask what he was like, what she was like.
And when they ask, may the answers be filled with honor, respect, and gratitude to God for your life. Twelfth mission: Simplify your life because less is more when time is short. Let me ask you something. How many things do you have in your house that you haven’t used in years? How many objects have you accumulated that now only take up space?” How many worries do you carry that don’t really have any lasting importance? One of the biggest mistakes people make as they get older is continuing to live as if they have infinite time. They keep
accumulating, they keep complicating things, they keep filling their lives with distractions, but wisdom says otherwise. Wisdom says simplify. In the Gospels, Jesus told Martha that she was worried and upset about many things. “ Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is necessary. Only one thing is necessary.
” And that one thing is to sit at Jesus’ feet, as Mary was doing. Everything else is secondary. During my years researching monastic communities, I was struck by how they lived. They had almost no possessions: a small cell, a bed, a desk, maybe a few books, and nothing more. At first, I thought it was sad, but then I understood that it was liberating.
Because when you don’t have things to take care of, you have time for the things that truly matter. I’m not telling you to become a monk; I’m telling you to evaluate what’s occupying your time. Time, your space, your energy. And if it’s not contributing to your eternal purpose, let it go. Sell what you don’t need, give away what can bless others.
The mess of hoarding, because your children don’t need more of your things, they need less. They need your departure to be simple. They don’t need to spend months sorting through decades of accumulation. But beyond the material, simplify your relationships. If there are toxic relationships in your life, let them go.
If there are people who only drain you and don’t build you up, set boundaries. You don’t have time for drama. You don’t have time for gossip. You don’t have time for superficial relationships. Invest in the relationships that truly matter: your family, your brothers and sisters in faith, those who walk with you toward eternity.
And simplify your mind. Stop worrying about things you can’t control. Stop consuming news that only fills you with anxiety. Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop reliving the past. Psalm 131:1-2 says, “O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes proud.” I did not exalt myself, nor did I engage in greatness, nor in things too sublime for me.
Truly, I have behaved and quieted my soul like a weaned child from its mother. My soul is like a weaned child . My soul has fallen silent. That is inner simplification. When the noise falls silent, when the anxiety ceases, when you find peace in the presence of God.
That’s the goal, because in the end, when you reach that final moment, you won’t want to be surrounded by things, you’ll want to be surrounded by love; you won’t want to be thinking about worries, you’ll want to be thinking about eternity; you won’t want to be distracted, you’ll want to be focused on God. So simplify now.
Prepare your exit, not to die, but to live the time you have left to the fullest, because less is more when time is short. Third mission. Be grateful because gratitude is the language of heaven. If there’s one thing God values, it’s gratitude. And if there’s one thing the devil hates, it’s gratitude. Because gratitude disarms complaining, gratitude destroys bitterness.
Gratitude closes the door to despair. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” In all circumstances, not for all, but in all. That is, in the midst of any circumstance, find something to be thankful for. And I know that’s difficult. I know you’ve experienced loss.
I know you’ve faced pain. I know that perhaps at this point in your life there are more reasons to complain than to be thankful. But let me show you something I discovered in my research. The happiest people in old age are not those who had the easiest lives; they are those who cultivated gratitude. I interviewed elderly people in terrible situations—chronic illness, loneliness, poverty—and yet some of them radiated peace.
Why? Because they had chosen to be thankful. They focused on what they had, not on what they had lost. They celebrated the small blessings—a sunrise, a phone call, a hot meal—and that gratitude kept them anchored in hope. There is a psalm, Psalm 103, that begins, “Bless, O my soul, May Jehovah bless his holy name, and may all that is within me bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Don’t forget any of its benefits. It’s easy to forget. It’s easy to focus on current problems and forget past blessings. But God calls you to remember, to take stock of his faithfulness. And when you do, when you stop to count your blessings, something changes, your perspective changes, your attitude changes, your heart opens again to hope.
I challenge you to do one exercise every night before going to sleep. Say out loud three things you are grateful for that day. Three things. They can be big or small, it doesn’t matter. The point is to cultivate the habit of seeking blessings, because what you seek, you will find. If you look for trouble, you’ll find trouble.
If you seek blessings, you will find blessings. And this is not superficial positive thinking, it is biblical theology. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If your treasure is in your sorrows, your heart will live in sorrow. If your treasure is in God’s mercies, your heart will live in gratitude.
Furthermore, gratitude opens doors in heaven. Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.” Gratitude is the gateway to the presence of God. Not complaining, not demanding, but gratitude. So be thankful not only in your heart, but out loud, with your words, with your actions.
Thank God, thank people, thank the visible and the invisible, because gratitude is the language of heaven. And when you live in gratitude, you are already experiencing a little bit of heaven on earth. Tenth mission. Prepare your family for your departure. Don’t leave them in chaos. This is a topic that many avoid because it is uncomfortable, but it is necessary.
You’re going to die. It’s not pessimism, it’s reality. And how you prepare your family for that moment can be an act of love or a source of pain. I have seen families destroyed after the death of an elderly person, not because of the pain of the loss, which is natural, but because of the chaos it left behind.
Disputed inheritances, unexpressed desires . unresolved issues. And all of that could have been avoided if the old man had had the wisdom and courage to prepare his family. So, how do you do it? First, get your legal affairs in order. Make a will that is clear, that is fair, that leaves no room for disputes, and communicate it to your family while you are still alive.
Explain your decisions. This will prevent misunderstandings and resentment later. Second, communicate your wishes regarding the funeral. Do you want to be cremated or buried? What songs do you want to be sung? Do you want a religious service or something simpler? Don’t let your family guess. Tell him.
Third, and this is the most important thing, it talks about death. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. Yes, it may cause tears, but it is necessary. Gather your family and tell them how you feel. Tell them how much you love them. Apologize if you need to apologize. Offer forgiveness if you need to offer forgiveness. Bless them, pray for them, and give them peace by telling them not to fear death because you know where you are going.
That conversation may be the most difficult you’ll ever have, but it can also be the most healing. Because when you show peace in the face of death, you teach them to have peace. When you speak of eternity with hope, you give them hope. In Genesis 49, Jacob gathered his sons before he died and spoke to them. He gave each one a prophetic word, blessed them, prepared them, and then died in peace. That’s the model.
Don’t hide. Don’t avoid the topic, address it with courage, with faith, with love, and free your family from the burden of having to guess what you wanted or how you felt. Also, write letters, letters to your children, to your grandchildren, to the people you love, letters they can read after you’re gone.
And in those letters, don’t just say “I love you.” Tell them why you love them. Tell them what you see in them. Tell them the hopes you have for their lives. Tell them the spiritual truths you want them to remember. Those letters will be treasures. They will be read again and again, they will be kept as inheritances more valuable than any money.
Finally, live in such a way that when the time comes to depart, there are no words left unsaid, no relationships left unrepaired, no matters left unresolved; that your departure is clean, that your family can mourn your absence, but celebrate your life, because that is how a servant of God should depart, not leaving chaos, but leaving peace. Fifteenth mission.
It ends well because the ending is what defines your story. There is a painful truth in life. It doesn’t matter how well you start if you end badly. History will not remember you for your first steps, it will remember you for your last. Solomon began as the wisest man in the world. He ended up as an idolater.
Samson began as the strongest man in Israel. He ended up blind and enslaved. Judas began as one of the 12 apostles. He ended up betraying Jesus. The beginning does not guarantee the end. And that should be your obsession in these last few years, to finish well. In Galatians 5:7, Paul asks the believers, “Were you running well? Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” You were running well, but something stopped you, something diverted you.
And Paul wanted to shake them back onto the path because finishing well requires vigilance, it requires discipline, it requires saying no to the temptations to relax, to compromise, to give up. What does it mean to finish well? It means to finish with intact faith, it means to finish with restored relationships.
It means to finish with a clean testimony. It means to finish with a clear conscience. It means to finish with your eyes fixed on eternity. I have known elderly people who finished well, and they all had something in common. They kept running to the end, not physically, but spiritually. They didn’t stop praying, they didn’t stop believing, they didn’t stop serving, they didn’t stop loving.
And when their time came, they departed with a smile on their face because they knew they had run the whole race. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Paul, in his last days, wrote, “For I am already becoming a man of grace.” sacrificed and the time of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Moreover, the crown of righteousness is laid up for me. I’ve finished my degree. That’s the goal: not to start well, but to finish well. And the crown of righteousness is reserved not for those who begin, but for those who finish. So this is my final appeal to you. Don’t give up now. Don’t let up in this final stage.
Don’t let tiredness, pain, or disappointment make you give up, because you are closer to the goal than you have ever been; it would be the greatest tragedy to stumble now, just meters from the finish line. God has sustained you this far , He will sustain you until the end. Trust him, obey him, serve him, love him.
And when that final day arrives, when you close your eyes on this earth and open them in eternity, you will hear the words that every servant of God longs to hear. Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Lord.
Those words, dear old man, are what make all this worthwhile. So lift your head, straighten your back, wipe away your tears and run, because there is still a race to be run. And you, you who have survived so much, you who have overcome so much, you who have walked so far, you have what it takes to cross that finish line with honor, don’t stop now.
God is with you and he will take you home. Well done.
