28 September 2022

Older radicals: three inspiring examples from the Bible

Bible study by Andrew Wileman

Andrew Wileman shares three examples of how older people have a role to play in God’s mission.

We can easily underestimate how blessed we are to be surrounded by older people in our corps and centres, where the radical nature of Jesus is lived out by ordinary people in faithful obedience.

Older radicals are peppered throughout the Bible with inspiring regularity. Here are three examples:

Read Ruth

What can we learn from the Bible that speaks into our lives as Christians in later years? Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, are a beautiful example.

Naomi, a Hebrew, had moved to the foreign land of Moab with her husband and two sons. Her sons had married Ruth and Orpah, who were Moabite women, but then Naomi’s husband and her two sons all died. With only her two daughters-in-law left, Naomi decided to return to her own country of Judah.

This placed Ruth and Orpah at a critical crossroads in their lives. Should they remain in Moab and return to their own families, or should they go with Naomi and travel to a foreign land?

The logical thing for Ruth to do when her husband died was to go home to her family and look for a new husband. Naomi suggested she do that and Orpah did follow that advice.

Ruth moved from the agony of questions she could not answer to the reality of answers she could not escape. She felt a deep conviction that she was to stay with Naomi. And she followed that conviction: she went with her mother-in-law, a poor widow, to a foreign land that might not accept or assist outsiders.

In the standout verse of the whole book, Ruth makes an impassioned plea to Naomi – and what a dramatic statement and plea it is! Consider how personal it is. It isn’t about beliefs and theology; it’s based on Ruth’s relationship with Naomi and Naomi’s relationship with God.

Ruth says: ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me’ (Ruth 1:16 and 17).

To go back to the security and comfort of her own people would be one thing but for Ruth to go to Judah would mean following God and putting her life completely in his hands. It would mean stepping out on the more difficult road, the road of faith.

As Ruth considered her future, she found herself having to come to terms with her own death. This must not be underestimated, because once our own death and journey Home are given over to the Lord, it has the potential to free us up from all other fears.

It turned out well for Ruth. She married a wealthy Hebrew and bore a son, Obed, who would be the grandfather of King David, whose direct lineage led to Jesus! To follow the Lord is usually the more difficult path, but its rewards will be far greater – a path that eventually leads to Christ.

It is a blessing when our lives are recognised by others because of our love. We too often forget that. Ruth’s wisdom is a good reminder that if we love others, and follow our heart in the way we treat everyone, it’s hard to go wrong.

Naomi’s example shows that anything is possible, and that God’s plans are far reaching. She reminds us that even people who are in later years still have something to offer and a role to play. Mentoring younger people is an act of faithful obedience, because no one does the life of faith alone.

Sharing our heart, wisdom, love and experience with those who come behind us is needed, significant and potentially life-changing.

You and I may not see the results in our lifetimes, but we can trust that God will use our actions today for a legacy tomorrow.

Pause and reflect

Has God brought you to a crossroads in your own life?
Will you decide to walk the path of comfort, or the path of faith?

Read Luke 2

It’s worth noting the first public presentation of Jesus was in the presence of two older people. Joseph and Mary went to the Temple with Jesus, their first-born son, to offer sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. They encountered Simeon and Anna.

Unlike many of his countrymen, Simeon was still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. In fact, Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn’t die until he had seen him. As soon as Simeon saw Jesus, he recognised him for what he was.

After taking the baby in his arms he said: ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel’ (Luke 2:29–32 English Standard Version).

Simeon holds the honour of being the first Jew to recognise the promised Messiah and the first to realise that salvation was being brought to Jews and Gentiles alike.

At this very moment, Anna appeared, the prophetess who was ‘well along in years’ (v36 Christian Standard Bible). After becoming a widow, Anna had dedicated her life to fasting and prayer, and to a life of worship in the Temple. Anna also prophesied about the redemptive work that Jesus would complete.

‘She never left the Temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem’ (Luke 2:37 and 38).

Like Simeon, as soon as she saw Jesus, Anna knew he was no ordinary baby and started praising God. Prayer and praise, however, were not enough; she immediately went out to tell everyone the good news.

Understanding that God’s timeline was not theirs, Simeon and Anna never gave up hope. Anna, who had been a childless widow for decades, didn’t bury her hope when she buried her husband. It would have been easy for her to have become bitter instead of a devout worshipper of God. Anna, however, prayed and praised and then proclaimed the good news. Both Anna and Simeon were both in the later years of their lives, and they had so much to offer.

CS Lewis said: ‘There are no “ordinary” people when they are recognised to carry an eternal weight of Glory.’ Anna and Simeon were common people just like me and you. But their co-operation with God has much to teach us.

Rise up Simeons. Rise up Annas. The world needs you.

Pause and reflect

Luke tells us that the Spirit led Simeon to the Temple that day. What if he hadn’t listened to and obeyed that quiet voice?
I would argue that many of you know people exactly like Anna and Simeon in your own corps and churches. Do you agree?

Read 2 Timothy

Perhaps you've not heard of Lois and Eunice? Perhaps you are surprised to hear that they are mentioned in the Bible at all – frankly, they sound like a couple of women who might be members of a lunch club or over-60 club. That is exactly who they could be and that makes them very important to the story God is writing for his Kingdom.

In 2 Timothy 1:5, we learn that Timothy’s faith came from his upbringing by his godly mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois. Years of influence from these older women are what gave Timothy the strong and sincere faith that Paul so revered.

‘I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but one of power, love and self-discipline’ (2 Timothy 1:5–7 International Standard Version).

Lois and Eunice are everywhere. I’m grateful to my own grandmothers, Annie and Jessie, and my mother, Betty, who are all in Glory now but who for years poured into me hours of faith, love and attention.

Everywhere we look in our families and those around us we can seek to be an influence. God has put people in our lives, whether they’re behind us, beside us or in front of us. It is such a gift to love one another, walk with one another, and soak up the blessings that flow across all generations.

The Lord uses all of us. We might not look like heroes who can slay a giant with a sling and a stone or part the Red Sea with the raising of a staff, but we can pass down a sincere, genuine, strong faith to the people around us. We are meant to be in relationship not only with our own children and grandchildren, parents and grandparents, but also with people of all generations in our neighbourhoods, schools, corps and communities.

Lois and Eunice knew that God did not give them a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline, so they set about the work of pouring their sincere faith into Timothy. I would venture to guess that we wouldn't find two books of the New Testament bearing his name had they not gone about that work with obedience.

You have younger generations around you whom you can influence. You speak into their lives more than any other human. What they see you do becomes their habit. What they hear from you echoes in their hearts and minds for the rest of their lives.