AGING
WITH GRACE
Flourishing
in an Anti-aging Culture
By
Sharon W Betters & Susan Hunt
In the story of Elizabeth, we
will see that sometimes we don’t recognise the fruit of a life rooted in Jesus
until confronted with the challenges of aging.
The motif of a barren wife being
fruitful runs throughout Scripture, beginning with Sarah, who laughed at the
idea of flourishing since she was past the age of childbearing. The Lord’s question then is his question now,
to us: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18 verse 14.
When the angel announced the
birth of Jesus, young Mary asked how it could be possible for a virgin to be
fruitful and multiply. The angel
answered with an explanation and an example.
Explanation: “And the angel
answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy –
the son of God” Luke 1 verse 35.
Example: “And behold, your
relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the
sixth month with her who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God” Luke 1 verses 36 and 37.
The angel explained the gospel
wonder of the Holy Spirit giving life and gave a flesh and blood example –
Elizabeth – to show the power of the gospel to do the impossible in and through
us. The gospel story written into
Elizabeth’s story can be true for us because the storyline is the same: when
the Holy Spirit gives us a new heart, it is possible for us to flourish and be fruitful
spiritually even in old age because God has spoken and he will do it – Ezekiel 36
verses 26 – 36
Luke 1 verses 5 to 7
Elisabeth and Zacharias lived in
a time when spiritual darkness hung like a menacing cloud over God’s
people. It had been about 400 years
since God’s people heard his voice and many believed he had forgotten his
promise. Israel turned away from God to
a religion of works and self-righteousness. The political climate was chaotic under
King Herod’s terrifying reign. The Old
Testament ends with the promise that the sun will rise when the light of the
world, Messiah, comes and destroys the darkness – Malachi 3 verses 16 to 18; 4
verses 1 to 3. Elisabeth and Zacharias hoped in this promise.
Both Elisabeth and Zacharias were
descendants of Aaron, the original high priest chosen by God to represent the
people before him and to butcher the lambs brought for sacrifice. Their parents’ tenacious belief in God’s
promised Redeemer showed up in their children’s names: Zacharias means “God
remembers”. Elisabeth means “oath of God”
or “my God has sworn”. Both families
passed on to their children their hope in the promises of God.
Biblical hope is the rich soil of
flourishing. But how do we live as we
wait for hope to become reality?
Elisabeth’s life shows how hope and waiting intertwine. These words are often used interchangeably, depending
on the English translation, as in Psalm 25 verse 3:
“No one who hopes in you will
ever be put to shame.” (NIV)
“Indeed, none who wait for you
shall be put to shame.” (ESV)
Hope and wait are often used in
the same verse “And now O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you” Psalm 39
verse 7.
What does waiting in hope look
like in daily life?
“They who wait (hope) for the
Lord shall renew their strength: they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40
verses 31
The root meaning for wait in this
passage is “to bind together (perhaps by twisting).
This is not a picture of a string
tied around a bundle of newspapers but rather strings that are
intertwined. When a rope of many strands
is used to pull a heavy load, the weight of the load stretches the strings,
pulling them tighter together. The
harder the job, the more tightly wound the strings become. Wait is an action word. Isaiah explains that waiting with hope, a
sometimes exhausting journey, means twisting ourselves around the Lord and binding
ourselves to him when we cling to him, a
supernatural exchange slowly but surely happens: his strength becomes our
strength. The harder the waiting, the
more tightly wound are we to him.
Elisabeth was probably familiar with this promise; her life shows us the
fruit of hopeful waiting. Instead of becoming
weak spiritually as she aged, she soared like an eagle as she was increasingly
satisfied with the Lord.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me, bless his holy name” ... who satisfies you with good so
that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Palm 103 verses 1 and 5
We meet Elisabeth when she is an
old woman; Luke reminds us 3 times she is old. She is an unlikely example of a
woman aging with grace because she experienced a life of barrenness, yet she is
called blameless. Barren refers to land
incapable of producing vegetation. It
means unproductive, infertile, unfruitful, sterile, waste, desolate. It’s the opposite of flourishing. So immediately we know this is a story of the
reversals accomplished by God’s grace.
As we ask Elisabeth how we can flourish even in old age, I imagine her,
with twinkling eyes, calling back to us, “Listen to my story and see how God
taught me to die to self and twist myself around him by waiting in hope, even
when he denied me the desire of my heart.”
Like many devout young Jewish
girls, Elisabeth probably hoped God would choose her to bear the promised
Messiah. She longed to be fruitful and multiply, but experienced the grief of
barrenness and the gut-wrenching pain of judgement and gossip from her
neighbours who believed childlessness was a curse from God, a punishment for
some sin and most likely the woman’s fault.
She also bore the shame of not bearing a son to carry on the family
name, and the fear of not having a son to care for Zacharias and her in their
old age. Did she ever cry to Zacharias,
as Rachel did to Jacob, “Give me children or I shall die!” Genesis 30 verse 1?
Think of the sorrow passing
between husband and wife when Elisabeth looked into Zacharias' hopeful eyes,
month after month, and silently shook her head no. Imagine the deep grief when menopause came
and they knew they would never conceive.
Consider Elisabeth’s private struggle to understand her identity and
role when she could not bear a son. But
through it all, Scripture tells us what determined their response to their pain
and disappointment. Their status was “righteous
before God” – he declared them justified by his grace. They flourished by “walking blamelessly in
all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” Luke 1 verse 6. This description tells us that whether happy
or broken-hearted, they confidently declared their hope in God by living
according to his word. They thought
biblically and they lived covenantally. We
don’t know the specifics of how this played out in Elisabeth’s life but
consider some of the possible implications for her.
·
Her marriage flourished. She died to her expectations and learned to
comfort and encourage her husband rather than withdraw into her own pain. This strand of three cords became stronger –
Ecclesiastes 4 verse 12.
·
She remained involved in covenant community
life, even though it continually confronted her with families who were multiplying. When a baby was born into their church
family, she died to her disappointment and rejoiced in this covenant
child. She even helped young mothers and
encouraged them to teach their children to walk in the ways of the Lord.
·
When other women were unkind about her
barrenness, she prayed that God would not let a bitter root grow in her heart
and defile others – Hebrews 12 verse 15.
When bitterness did take root, she repented of her sin and asked God to
cleanse her heart.
·
Perhaps she repeatedly fed her mind and heart
with Habakkuk 3 verses 17 and 18 “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor
fruit be on the vines ... yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in
the God of my salvation.”
·
Her perspective of her life and of the world was
God-centred and not self-centred.
·
In contrast to many Jews who lived for man’s
approval, she worshiped God and through bloody sacrifices demonstrated her need
for a Saviour. As hope for a child died,
the greater hope of the promised Messiah flourished and made her sweeter in old
age. Her theology shaped her daily life.
Long before the Lord gave Elisabeth
her miracle baby, her life illustrated God’s promise to make the dry tree
flourish – Ezekiel 17 verse 24.
Luke 1 verses 8 to 17, 24 and
25
Something impossible was about to
happen, just as it did for Elisabeth’s foremothers Sarah (Genesis 18 verse 11)
and Hannah (1 Samuel 1 and 2). Elisabeth
was about to experience the wonder of God doing “far more abundantly than all that
we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Ephesians 3 verse
20.
Priests were chosen by lot to
enter the sanctuary of the temple and intercede for God’s people. Because there were so many priests, this was
often a once-in-a-lifetime event. At
just the right moment, God orchestrates the lot to go to Zacharias.
As Zacharias finishes his duties,
the angel Gabriel appears and tells him his prayer has been heard. We might think Zacharias’ prayer for a child
has been heard, but it is likely this was a prayer for God to keep his promise
to send Messiah. When Elisabeth and
Zacharias realised God would not give them a child, they likely continued to pray
for God to send their Redeemer. They
lived expectantly, trusting that one day light would shine into the darkness of
their world. Hope made their
disappointments bearable. It is no
coincidence that at this barren time in Israel’s history, God used an old,
barren couple as the bridge between the old covenant and the ushering in of the
new covenant.
When Elisabeth conceived, her
emotion packed response is deeply theological. “Thus the Lord has done for me
in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Luke
1 verse 25
In the book Transformed:
Life-taker to Life-giver we read:
Elisabeth’s testimony proclaims
the gospel. It seems likely this “daughter
of Aaron” was reflecting on the Aaronic blessing.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the
Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up
his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6 verses 24 to 26
In Christ, He shines his face
upon us and takes away the reproach and guilt of our sin. It must be noted – He can look on us because
He looked away from His beloved Son as He bore our sin (Matthew 27 verse 46). Now He looks on us with delight because He
looks and sees Jesus.
Elisabeth kept herself hidden for
5 months. Luke doesn’t tell us why, but
perhaps she wanted time to hold this precious gift close, to pour over the
promises of the coming Messiah and his forerunner, her son. Luke describes Elisabeth as righteous, so we
know her life was informed by Scripture.
I suspect she wanted time to pray and ask the Lord to prepare her to
better understand his word before relatives and neighbours bombarded her with
questions. I envision priceless private
days between Elisabeth and the Lord, her heart overflowing with worship and
tears streaming down her cheeks in awe of his purposes. I also think this sweet respite prepared her
for Mary’s arrival.
Luke 1 verses 39 to 48
Elisabeth’s child would prepare
the way for Messiah, and Elisabeth would prepare his young mother. Elisabeth’s pregnancy would be the example to
remind Mary nothing is impossible with God and her voice would encourage and
equip Mary for her mission. Instead of
stooping under the weight of disappointment, she stands tall in her faith, growing
sweeter in old age and providing a canopy of gospel refreshment for Mary. This old woman was full of sap and green,
ready to welcome Mary and declare God’s love, power and righteousness to her.
Imagine the shock of Elisabeth’s
neighbours when she ventured out during the sixth month of her pregnancy, and
then her relative Mary showed up. Two
women. One old, one young. Both experiencing the impossible.
Our anti-aging culture often
pushes aside older people to make way for a new generation. This is not God’s way. Throughout Scripture,
God not only explains the idea of mentoring, but he shows us the power of
evergreen, older, wiser people investing in the lives of the next
generation. And like Elisabeth and Mary,
those relationships are not one-sided.
Each generation learns from the other.
For decades Elisabeth daily died
to self and twisted herself around the Lord.
Her intimacy with him shaped Mary to fulfil her mission. She spoke Spirit-led, life-giving words to
Mary, words that reveal a grateful, humble heart with no room for jealousy
because it is full of God’s love. She commends
Mary for believing the words of the angel.
I suspect these are some of the things Mary stored in her heart and
remembered when neighbours or family whispered about her pregnancy or called
her son names – Luke 2 verse 19.
It seems the Lord directed Mary
to Elisabeth because this young girl needed to be on the fast track of growing
even deeper spiritual roots. Elisabeth
mothered her young relative for 3 months, but this was not a one-way
relationship. Each time they looked at
one another, they remembered that nothing is impossible with God. Each time they heard whispered life-taking
words, they could look at each other and smile.
Though planted in the mud of scandal, they flourished.
Elisabeth spoke life-giving
words, and when Mary sang, she put the testimony of her spiritual mother to
verse "He has looked on the humble estate of his servant” Luke 1 verse 48.
These women were God-centred, not
self-centred.
Elisabeth’s story is our
story. Consider the similarities.
Every child of God experiences
the impossible when we who were dead in sin are made alive in Christ –
Ephesians 2 verses 4 and 5.
Darkness covered Elisabeth’s
world, culturally, religiously, and personally.
We, too, live in darkness until the light of Christ shines into our
hearts.
We have all experienced some form
of barrenness in our relationships and situations, those times when grief or
disappointment cut a devastating swath of death through our lives. Those times are our opportunities to cling in
hope so the promise that God can do the impossible and make our parched lives
flourish.
“He looked on me” is our
testimony – Luke 1 verse 25. God sees us
because he has known us since before creation.
He removes our reproach through the sacrifice of his Son and sets us
free.
We are blameless. “God ... chose us in Christ before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him”
Ephesians 1 verses 3 and 4. He transforms
us so we increasingly die to self and become more and more like Jesus. Flourishing in every season and circumstance
is possible for the child of God because his Spirit lives in us.
We are called to be involved in
covenant community life. Even in old age
we can do this by welcoming others and sharing our hope in Jesus with them,
offering gospel encouragement and affirmation, and showing the love and
kindness of Jesus.
Like Elisabeth, we must daily
make the choice to die to self by repenting of bitterness and trusting and
obeying God’s word, even in disappointing and hard times.
We too must continually remember
that when life seems barren, flourishing is possible because “nothing will be
impossible with God” Luke 1 verse 37.
Hope that Jesus is coming makes
our disappointments bearable, so we pray “Come Lord Jesus” Revelation 22 verse
20. Christians today, especially
suffering Christians, cling to this promise and look forward to the day when
all tears will be wiped away – Revelation 21 verse 4. This world is not all
there is.
You might have concluded there is
not much in Elisabeth’s story for you because it’s too late for the Lord to
gift you as he did Elisabeth. But
wait. A day is coming for each of us
when our bodies will give out and for those who don’t know Jesus, all will be
lost. But for the child of God, light
enters that darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it – John 1 verse 5. No child of God dies alone. Like Elisabeth, we look forward to our Saviour
keeping the promise of his presence in the moment we step from earth to heaven.
I wait for the Lord, my soul
waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen
for the morning.” Psalm 130 verses 5 and
6
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