A crown of glory

Proverbs 16:31 and others

Today I reached a new milestone. I’m officially old! It’s my 65th birthday. I share birthdays with both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, the two Hobbits who are the focus of the books written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien, of course, was a writer, poet and philologist. He also was the leading factor in converting fellow writer C.S. Lewis from atheism to belief, which led to Lewis writing some of the best Christian literature ever (Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Great Divorce).

So, there’s a tenuous thread between my birthday, the birthday of two fictional characters, and a wonderful lay theologian. What does that have to do with anything?Since the purpose of this blog is to dive into Scripture and Christianity, I thought it would be a good time to look at what the Bible says about getting old…

“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Well, I’m not sure that the gray hair and baldness is a sign of being godly, as I wasn’t for a lot of my life! However, I appreciate my fringe of gray being referred to as “a crown of glory.”

“And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t abandon me when my strength is failing.”

Psalms‬ ‭71:9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

That’s a prayer I need to repeat every day. My strength doesn’t seem to be failing… yet. This is that stage of life when we start seeing friends and relatives that suddenly take a bad turn, then pass away. Asking God to “not set me aside” as I grow older is a good idea!

“You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!”

‭‭Job‬ ‭5:26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I like this! A ripe old age, “harvested at the proper time” would be a perfect way to go. One thing I don’t particularly like to do is think about the past, but rather anticipate better things in the future. Here’s a bit of Ecclesiastes that agrees with me:

“Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One more verse that I wish more young people would take note of:

““Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19:32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And it’s good to know what I’m worth as I go into my “golden years”. Or should we call them “silver years”?

“A man older than sixty is valued at fifteen shekels of silver; a woman of that age is valued at ten shekels of silver.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭27:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Barb and my older female friends are not going to be happy knowing that I’m valued at five shekels more than them!

I hope you enjoyed this light-hearted look at aging. Let’s face it - we’ll all get there someday, God willing!