[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fhang-on":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fhang-on-surround":79},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":13,"columnName":62,"date":63,"description":19,"extension":64,"image":65,"meta":66,"minRead":67,"navigation":68,"path":69,"postType":70,"publication":71,"publicationUrl":65,"seo":72,"stem":73,"topics":74,"__hash__":78},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fhang-on.md","Hang On",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12],"Matthew","Mark","Acts","Galatians",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":58},"minimark",[16,20,23,26,29,32,40,43,46,49,52,55],[17,18,19],"p",{},"The English poet Lord Byron wrote:",[17,21,22],{},"\"What is the worst of woes that wait on age? What stamps the wrinkle deeper on the brow? To view each loved one blotted from life's page, And be alone on earth, as I am now.\"",[17,24,25],{},"Loneliness hurts at any age, but a lonely heart aches more keenly as the years go by. Old age brings unpleasantries that \"stamp the wrinkle deeper on the brow.\" In pessimistic moments senior adults are tempted to define themselves only by what they have lost. Lost health (they aren't as strong as they used to be). Lost jobs (they have retired from their careers). Lost friends (long-time acquaintances have died or moved away). Lost customs (familiar traditions are no longer valued, even at church). Lost significance (they don't exert as much influence as they did in the past). Worst of all is the loss of hope.",[17,27,28],{},"Joseph Campbell had a more positive view of aging. He wrote, \"As a white candle in a holy place, so is the beauty of an aged face.\" What ensures a hopeful and purposeful old age? What brings beauty to an aged face?",[17,30,31],{},"Jesus laid down a key guideline for all age-groups when he answered the question, \"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?\" The Lord summarized it all in two bedrock principles: \"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength\" and \"love your neighbor as yourself\" (Matthew 22:36, 37; Mark 12:28-31).",[17,33,34,35,39],{},"Then Jesus added an interesting statement: \"All the Law and the Prophets ",[36,37,38],"em",{},"hang"," on these two commandments\" (Matthew 22:40, emphasis mine).",[17,41,42],{},"The phrase, \"hang on,\" makes me think of a rod in the closet where clothes hang; remove the rod and all the clothes fall to the floor. A chandelier holds lights overhead; but without the fixture on which they hang, the lights will fall and the room will go dark. The Greek word translated \"hang\" in Matthew 22:40 is used elsewhere in Scripture to describe the way Jesus was \"hanged\" on the cross (Acts 5:30, 10:39; Galatians 3:13).",[17,44,45],{},"Hanging onto the Right Things",[17,47,48],{},"There are many aspects to life: working at our jobs, spending and saving money, taking care of our bodies, educating our minds. But life doesn't \"hang on\" what we do for ourselves. Everything hangs on our relationship with God and with others.",[17,50,51],{},"Jesus said \"all the Law and the Prophets\" hang on these two great commands. Even the Ten Commandments hang on them. The first four deal with love for God (worship the true God, do not worship idols, hold God's name in reverence, honor the Sabbath). The next six deal with love for our neighbors (honor parents, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't covet). Jesus personally embodied both sides of the equation, so when he died on the cross he still showed love for his neighbors (\"Father, forgive them,\" \"Today you will be with me in paradise\") and love for his heavenly Father (\"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit\").",[17,53,54],{},"The secret of aging well is hanging onto the right things. Not earthly treasures we amass for ourselves. Not our own human achievements. Not nostalgic memories of a past we can never reclaim. Nailing self-interest to the cross, we must pour ourselves into relationships that will matter even after we have left this earth.",[17,56,57],{},"Love God. Love our neighbors. These goals are valid in every stage of life. Let's hang onto them.",{"title":59,"searchDepth":60,"depth":60,"links":61},"",2,[],"First Look","2004-07-18","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fhang-on","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":19},"articles\u002Fhang-on",[75,76,77],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Intergenerational Ministry","5hGbY9A7xbROdoZvnSo--PVfNWpEyzqj8yV_vHFacy0",[80,85],{"title":81,"path":82,"stem":83,"description":84,"children":-1},"Halfway Home","\u002Farticles\u002Fhalfway-home","articles\u002Fhalfway-home","\"It's only halfway home!\" That's what my boss used to say when I was 17, working for a master carpenter. \"Halfway home\" meant I hadn't driven the nail far enough into the wood. I needed to hit it with my hammer again to drive it all the way home and make sure it was secure.",{"title":86,"path":87,"stem":88,"description":89,"children":-1},"Happy Are the Humble","\u002Farticles\u002Fhappy-are-the-humble","articles\u002Fhappy-are-the-humble","Years ago my high school guidance counselor urged me to speak up for myself. He said, “If you don’t toot your own horn, your horn will never be tooted.” However, someone far wiser advised, “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2)."]