More than one person has said, “The golden years are when you spend all your saved-up gold on doctors.” It’s a funny adage, but the truth behind it isn’t so funny. I wonder if part of the reason why we like to watch the Olympics or other professional sports is that it allows us to vicariously relive our youth.
Most of the athletes that we watch are in their twenties and thirties (some are still teenagers). Once we move into our forties, we notice our metabolism begins to slow and injuries take longer to heal. The heroes of bygone years are replaced by a younger generation, who are faster, stronger, and more daring. It happens in every sport.
Because I wrestled in high school and college, after I was married (a few years after college) I went to a local high school’s wrestling practice. The coach allowed me to wrestle one of his better wrestlers. I got the takedown and controlled the guy for all of 30 seconds. Then I collapsed on the edge of the mat, flat on my back, feeling like if I moved, I’d pass out or throw up. I lay there for 30 minutes. Though I was still in my twenties, it hadn’t taken too long to lose any competitive edge and endurance.
I remember my dad telling me from his wheelchair, “I used to be called, ‘Speedy’.” I couldn’t believe it at the time, but now I can relate. All of us grow old. None of us retains our strength or endurance. Though it can be frustrating at times, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing that we develop aches and pains.
Paul had been given a glimpse into Heaven. He wrote, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
Here we see the huge differences between what God wants to accomplish in our lives through difficulties and what Satan wants to accomplish. God used the “thorn” to build humility into Paul’s life. The devil wanted to use it to torment Paul. I don’t know what his thorn was, but I know that as we get older and our body begins to break down, God is building humility and compassion in us. It is the devil who tries to torment and frustrate us.
Jesus compared His intentions with those of Satan when He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). If you are a follower of Jesus, you may still end up spending your gold on doctors, but you can still look forward to Heaven, where there won’t be any of the aches and pains.
Let me be clear. The “thorns” and trials that you are experiencing are not necessarily because you are conceited and so, God is attempting to teach you humility. Jesus, who was the most humble person who ever lived, endured hardships and pain.
You can be sure that, whatever pains you are experiencing, if you are a follower of Jesus, He has promised that He will never leave you, He has a plan for using your pain, and He still loves you. Sometimes His plan won’t become evident to us until Heaven, though. Still trust Him.
If you haven’t yet received Christ, whether you have any gold left when you die doesn’t matter. You won’t take it with you. And it will not have secured you a place in Heaven. Only a relationship with Jesus will do that. Receive Him while you are still young.
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