DON'T DIE UNTIL YOUR DEAD

At one of the churches that I pastored there was a dear saint named Dr Bill Randolph who at one time had been the president of Lancaster Bible College but who was now elderly and blind. I’m sure that this dear man had forgotten more about theology than I will ever learn. It was somewhat intimidating to preach with him there but every Sunday after church he would give me this huge bear hug and say, “Do you know why I like listening to you preach? Because I always learn something new.” That was Dr. Randolph. As he aged, Dr Randolph developed a philosophy of life that was summed up in a saying of his that stuck with me. He would say that the key to getting old was this, “Don't die until you're dead!" Today there tends to be a trend in the church in which when we retire from our jobs we retire from serving in the church. Folks, listen, retire from your job. You earned it. But never retire from serving Jesus, especially in the church. That’s the story of Caleb in the book of Joshua. With age he became more confident and more involved. As you age, your physical vision will naturally get dimmer but your spiritual vision should get clearer. Don’t die until you’re dead!