Imagine living for 900 years. Could you fill those years with purpose? Would others be glad for your longevity? Would boredom set in?
Old Methuselah held death at bay for 969! That’s a whale of a lot of living. Do you think he ever had a death wish? Did he get weary of the ups and downs of life? Some people experience this in less than 100 years.
An 80-year-old woman asked me, Do you think I’m going to die soon? When I asked why the question, she said, I hope it comes soon. I’m sick and tired of being cold all the time.
Across the nursing home hall lived another 80-year-old. She proudly showed me her book of poems recently published. She was the president of the residents’ association. A few years before entering the nursing home she drove her own Harley-Davidson. She had another manuscript ready for the editorial process. Her plans exceeded her days. No talk of dying. Too busy living.
Ninety-year-old Edith asked me to remove a few trees on the border of her 4-acres. As I carried a limb to the burn pile, she passed me carrying a limb of similar weight. I called to her. Edith, slow down! You’ll have a heart attack! She laughingly responded as she continued to the burn pile, No problem Larry. I already had a heart attack. The doc told me I wasn’t to mow my lawn. I told him to watch me.
Today I met Edith in Walmart. She was darting up and down the aisles like a spring chicken. No time to contemplate the end of life. She was going merrily toward 100.
Genesis says, All the days of Methuselah were 969 years and he died. Of course he died, but what did he do with each new day? They could have flown by in what seemed to him like 100. They could have seemed like 2000.
A clergy friend of mine said he could not wait for the day he retired. He was the pastor of my church for a few years. His sermons were as dry as Death Valley. He bragged about his ability to preach without notes. He preached without life. The longer he droned on and on, the heavier grew the eyelids of his parishioners. His 3-year tenure seemed like 30 to me. I wish he had met Oscar Smith.
Oscar was a pastor of the Advent Christian church. I met him when he was 99. His dining room table was covered with correspondence related to his research. Finding Oscar at home wasn’t easy. He had a daily route on which he encouraged people. I attended the ministerial alliance meeting when they celebrated his 100th birthday.
He was asked to preach a 15-minute sermon. He read his text, made the application, and tastefully invited us to make a decision. He sat down exactly 15 minutes after he began.
The young pastor seated next to me whispered, I wish I could preach like that. I whispered back, If you put lots of living into every day, you can.
I have a Methuselah assignment for you. Keep a journal. Every day begin your entry with these words — Today was a memorable day because… At the end of every week read the previous seven entries. Ask yourself whether you were truly alive.