Serve and Respect the Elder Saints

Great Idea by Josh Etter.

I have so many great memories of my grandfather (Gugga) and grandmother (Guku/Mama).  My Grandparents impacted me in huge ways and their influence is like nuclear energy.  In February I finally got the chance to visit them after about ten years of being away.  I was so refreshed and inspired by their godliness, wisdom, and love.  I even had a chance to drive my Gugga to the doctor’s for his monthly check-up.  Our time together overwhelmed me with such great joy and my cup is still overflowing.

You know what, I can say the same for the many “elders” in my church through the years.  I pray that my younger, same-aged, and slightly older peers experience the same.  It is so awesome, in words inexpressible, to have someone older to lovingly walk alongside with in life.  But as much as they give to us, we should also give back to them.  It’s an amazing paradox.

Charles Spurgeon writes:

Some are like the sun going down in the west; they will be gone soon. Serve them, dear brethren. You that are in health and vigour, comfort them, strengthen them, and help them all you can. Be a joy to that dear old man, who has been spared to you even beyond the allotted threescore years and ten, and praise God for the grace that has upheld him through his long pilgrimage. Look on his grey hairs as a crown of glory; make his descent to the grave as easy as you can. He once was as young as you are; he once had the vigour that you have. Console him, cheer him, give him the respect that is due to his many years. Do not let him feel that you consider him an old fogey who lingers, superfluous, on the stage; but learn from his experience, imitate his perseverance, and ask God to be with you in your old age, as he is with him.

Excerpted from Charles Spurgeon's Own FuneralSermon.

Original Source: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/serve-and-respect-the-elder-saints