This year, the Detroit Tigers brought back a pitcher, Justin Verlander, who at one time was a golden boy and is one of the most decorated pitchers in MLB history. Forty-three may not seem old to us, but it is old for a professional baseball player. At his comeback, he pitched only one game before injuring himself and finally announcing his retirement. It’s like his body said, “Okay, enough is enough. I’m too old to be playing professional ball.” Justin’s story is a stark reminder that our physical bodies get weaker as we get older.
One of the natural responses to growing older is that we often slow down a bit. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but the majority of people put the word rest into retirement. My niece shakes her head at how my husband is always working. She says to him: “Uncle Lou, retirement is for REST!” It seems our bodies need to take it easy after years of running, striving, and working really hard. An aging body cannot do what it did in its younger days. My husband has always enjoyed working with his hands and building things. He has flipped houses and remodeled the house we live in. Currently, he’s building an outside brick fireplace. But at 69, he often gets frustrated because his bones hurt and his muscles ache at the end of a work day. And he gets a lot more tired than he used to.
However, our faith should be the opposite. The apostle Paul said: “Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). Hence, as we mature in our faith, we should walk in greater boldness and confidence, working harder in some respects…. Not necessarily harder physically, but harder spiritually. What I’m saying is that our mature faith should be more active than it once was. Some of you know that I’ve been writing and teaching Bible studies for well over 30 years. But I go deeper and to greater lengths than I did in my earlier days. In fact, the Lord saved Revelation and Daniel for the time my faith was stronger and more mature. I surely would have had a harder time tackling those books when my faith was starting out. I’m thinking that God has His biggest work for me yet. And probably for you, too.
The writer of Hebrews devoted a whole chapter… chapter 11… to honoring the heroes of faith in Scripture. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote a whole letter about faith… that faith in itself is dead without action. And throughout the New Testament, we are encouraged to live a life of faith. In fact, we learn in Hebrews 11:6 that “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Nothing in Scripture tells us that we are to retire from the Great Commission. In fact, our resolve and determination to show people their need for Christ should be stronger the more we grow in our faith.
It’s important to note that faith is the opposite of religion. Religion is a system of rules, rituals, and performances. Living a life of faith has its roots in relationship… a devoted relationship with Jesus. As we draw nearer to Jesus every day, our faith will grow and get stronger. The result will be that we will get more courageous and bolder in our witness for the Kingdom of God. So, maybe it’s time we do a deep evaluation of our spiritual life. Do we love deeper, give more generously, and speak more freely about Jesus than we used to? Are we continuously filling up our cups with truth so that truth just pours out of us? These are signs that our faith is growing. And as our faith grows, our lights get brighter not dimmer.