Wisdom of the Aged: God’s strategy to re-disciple Australia
Introduction
The massive support for same sex marriage (SSM) shown by the business, sporting, educational, health, legal, media and entertainment worlds etc. is a prophetic sign that the Church has lost the war for cultural influence. This is a divine judgement which is designed to release prophetic hope. In the wake of the legalising of gay marriage it may be that the people of God will be shocked into moving from an inward looking church-centred paradigm to an outwardly focussed kingdom inspired dynamic. This will involve understanding that unlike the gathered Church God’s kingdom is boundless and is to be brought into vital engagement with every aspect of life and culture. The Lord’s strategy to restore “salt” and “light” in the world is counter cultural and involves the release of one of the most neglected cohorts in our society, the retired (Isa 55:8-9; Matt 5:13-16). I believe in the miraculous, but signs and wonders locked up in church buildings can never transform culture. This generational revolution, about the exact opposite of the one that transformed the West in the 60’s, can only come through the power of the cross.
Cruises, Caravans, Churches, Cross
Thousands of older Christians are subject to the manipulations and enticements of a retirement culture which is robbing God’s kingdom of indispensible resources. I am appalled at the thousands of dollars spent on pleasure cruises, the vast amounts of time spent in caravanning by grey nomads, and that so many mature believers are corralled by church leadership into serving on rosters internal to congregational life. True, some folk see cruises and caravanning as mission opportunities, but this is quite rare. The biggest snare for older folk like me is family; grandchildren are a delight, but our Lord said, “whoever loves son or daughter (or grandkids) more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37). Family first is a powerful cultural value but it is idolatrous. “Oldies”, who really shouldn’t have to be told this, need to pursue a cruciform (cross-shaped) lifestyle to the very end. This entails a resolute decision to forsake the priority of “well earned rest” and enjoyment of the sunset years to continue working with the Lord as long as able. Such a costly lifestyle decision is the essence of discipleship and can powerfully releases the presence of the kingdom of God into the cultural structures of this world.
Wisdom of the Aged
The Lord’s kingdom is back to front in relation to the ways of the world; the last are first and the little children understand spiritual truths (Matt 11:25; 19:30). In order to resist cultural pressures telling us that technology will solve every problem we need to listen to the Spirit speaking about experienced based contextual wisdom. God’s priority is relationship and wisdom is close to the heart of every healthy relationship. Information can be Googled but heavenly wisdom is a gift the Lord has imparted to those who have long listened to and obeyed him. These are folk marinated in the Spirit’s understanding, not only about how to read the Bible, pray, be good stewards and so on, but with wisdom for the workplace. Joseph and Daniel stand out as wise ones in the governance of this world not primarily because of their intelligence but because of what God put them through in life (Gen 41:39; Dan 2:20-23). Crisis, trial and personal injustices taught them to seek the insight of the Lord in who is the blueprint for the whole structure of human civilisation. In Christ is found the template for government, law, commerce, creativity, construction, healthiness and so on because “all things were created through him and for him” (Col 1:16).
Communicating through the Cross
Christians of all ages testify that in Christ “are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (1 Cor 1:17; Col 2:3). But if the perfection of the Son of God was accomplished only through suffering, and pre-eminently the suffering of the cross, divine wisdom can only be perfected in us through divine help in the midst injustices, betrayals and seeming abandonment (Heb 2:10). The formation of such godly wisdom takes a lot of time. Mature believers have reached the point where the Lord has put to death their selfish ambitions and they are at peace with the pace of God’s work in them and the world (James 3:13-18). Older Christians who know these things are called as spiritual fathers/mothers to be at the vanguard of an expansive discipleship movement into all the dimensions of life and culture. Those with insight to disciple a younger generation into the future happily bear in their souls “the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal 6:17). The “fellowship of his sufferings” is integrated into the character and conduct of their lives (Phil 3:10). As Luther said, “Not understanding, reading or speculation, but living—nay, dying and being damned—make a (godly) theologian.”, they know that MBA’s, LLB’s, B.S’s, B.Ed’s and so on do not make a godly engineer, tradie, teacher, businessman etc. Godliness in the workplace is the fruit but being put through by the Lord many cycles of death and resurrection in the place where he has called us. This is where an infinitely higher wisdom than any worldy academy or workshop is taught by the Spirit.
Are You Qualified?
Those ignorant of the cross would say I have failed to live up to my potential as a scientist, educator and theologian. But I keep seeing the Lord speaking wisdom through me into the lives of others in a way that never happened when I was an ambitious young man full of knowledge. This is surely the work of the spirit of restoration present in Elijah then John the Baptist (Matt 17:9-13). Through the prayerful intention of Elijah’s heart Elisha becomes his spiritual son and successor and John’s preaching and personal diminishment opens up the way for Jesus (2 Ki 2:9-10; John 1:29; 3:30). Of such things the Old Testament prophesies, ““Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.”” (Mal 4:5-6). The intensity and vitriol of SSM debacle has revealed Australia is a cursed and fatherless nation. We desperately need an army of older believers to restore God’s Fatherly to younger Christians in the trades, law, medicine, science, education, media, business etc. through an impartation of the wisdom of learned experience (cf. Tit 2:3-5).
Conclusion
With 800 Australians retiring daily the Lord is releasing a vast storehouse of divine wisdom refined by the crucible of the cross in the workplace to accelerate the restoration of his kingdom presence in every sphere of society. All that needs to happen is to mobilise this army of the aged and pair them with young believers who are keen to grow as disciples of Jesus in the vocations where he has called them. We live in a time of great opportunity, but one which can only be released through a Church humbled enough to obey the ways of the Lord. The vital kingdom principle, “if one member is honoured, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26) is a call for the Body of Christ to revere the grey haired amongst us (Lev 19:32). Not in some sentimental manner, but as a gift for a mentoring movement that can accelerate the re-discipling of the nation (Matt 28:19). Please pray that this vision turns into reality.