Social Insecurity
Dave Faust
In 1513, Ponce de Leon set out to find the fountain of youth in Florida. Sunny skies and sandy beaches still beckon in 1999, but no one has found the fountain of youth there—nor in medicines and vitamin supplements, cosmetics and plastic surgery, health clubs and savings plans. There's anxiety about aging in the air.
Not surprisingly, Social Security has become a hot political topic. An article called "Home of the Gray" (Newsweek, March 1, 1999) reported that by 2038, people 65 and older will make up 34 percent of the electorate—up from only 16 percent in 1966. If current trends continue, 30 years from now almost 70 million retirees will live in America. And as average family size continues to decline—the typical American family now has two children, compared to 3.7 in 1960—one quirky statistic indicates there will soon be more grandparents than grandchildren in America!
But the fact is, our biggest need isn't Social Security. It's spiritual security.
How can you feel secure as you age if you have no assurance that you'll go to Heaven when you die? Stockbrokers deal in something called "futures," but how bright is your future if it depends on fickle stock-market fluctuations and treasures that moths and rust can corrupt, thieves can steal, and Y2K can threaten? The common wisdom, "If you have your health, you have everything," isn't true either. Health is a great blessing, but a blessing so fragile it can disappear with a single heartbeat or a sudden car crash. There's no security there.
Aging well has more to do with accumulating wisdom than accumulating wealth. Real security isn't something government gives; it's something God gives. It doesn't come from a nine-digit number written on a card you keep in your pocket; it comes from having your name written in Heaven where God keeps the books.
A blessed old age is about productive ministry, not increasing self-indulgence. It's not about fighting wrinkles and bemoaning the passing of time; it's about fruit of the Spirit ripening, personal relationships deepening, and God's kingdom advancing.
In Christ we have "hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" (Hebrews 6:19). The person who delights in the Lord and his Word "will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear" (Psalm 112:7, 8).
Ponce de Leon didn't find the fountain of youth. But the security we find in Christ can make us young at heart at any age. It comes from a different kind of fountain described in a familiar hymn:
There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.
This column first appeared in The Lookout on May 2, 1999.
So That
One of our church’s elders often points out the importance of the phrase “so that.” Those two little words can keep business meetings from drifting into aimless meandering. They compel the group to ask, “What is our objective? What are we trying to accomplish?” When church leaders meet, even to talk about minor matters, our purpose should be clear. We gather together to pursue noble goals: “*so that* God will be glorified, *so that* the gospel will be preached, *so that* personal relationships will deepen, *so that* families will be strengthened, *so that* God’s truth will be proclaimed and his love will be expressed.”
Some Said It Thundered
"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" (John 12:27, 28).