Fourteen Years

children

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve written, but time is short. How short? Well maybe fourteen years, maybe less.

A week ago I had another one of those celebrations that happen once every 365 days, or in this case, 366. It dawned on me that based on the retirement age here in Australia of 67, I have just fourteen years of gainful employment left. (Wow … I am getting old, aren’t I?)

But what does that really mean for me?

Let’s face it, I could be hit by a bus tomorrow. (It always amazes me that we so often think that an early demise will come at the hands of a negligent bus driver. I think they get a bad rap. Surely bus deaths aren’t that high.) However, if the good Lord decides to keep me on this earth for a while longer, I have fourteen more years of contributing to the task of seeing children released from poverty in Jesus’ name. Fourteen more years of speaking for those who have no voice. Fourteen more years of encouraging others to get on board to do what they can to end extreme poverty.

Well, that’s not quite true.

At this point, I can imagine myself working with Compassion until I retire, but I don’t know if God might direct me somewhere else in the meantime. On the other hand, even if I do continue working with Compassion until I retire, I won’t stop advocating for children in extreme poverty when I finally hand back the office keys and drive out of the Compassion car park for the final time. Whatever years I’m given, whether a few or many, I hope I’ll still be speaking up for others.

You see, my job isn’t just a job.

I’ve heard it said that if you “find something you love to do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Nice idea but not quite true. I love what I do but I really do have to work at it … and that’s OK. I’m happy to work hard at what I do because there’s a lot to be done. Did you know around 300 million children in our world will go to bed hungry tonight? Did you know that according to the most recent figures 17 000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable causes? And let that word sink in for a while. Preventable. That means it doesn’t have to be this way.

It’s unacceptable.

I believe that extreme poverty is unacceptable. I believe the corrupt systems that keep people in extreme poverty are unacceptable. The fact that a child can grow up believing that they are worthless is unacceptable. Most of all, knowing that our world has the resources and know how to halt extreme poverty right now, yet chooses not to, is unacceptable.

So whether it’s fourteen or forty years I have left on this planet, with God’s help, I’ll still be speaking up for those who need to know that they are precious. Whatever time I have I’ll be highlighting the imbalance of those of us who have too much and those who have literally nothing. Whether it be days or decades I’ll be pointing to the injustice of a world that turns its back on children in poverty. For the days I have left I’ll be doing my best to ensure that children everywhere are known, loved and protected.

Will you join me in changing our world? Please sponsor a child today through Compassion and release them from poverty in Jesus’ name.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Fourteen Years? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Don’t Waste Your Life

shells

I read John Piper’s book Don’t Waste Your Life some time back and was struck by the following illustration of what he considered to be a wasted life.

“I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider a story from the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest, which tells about a couple who “took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells.”

At first, when I read it I thought it might be a joke. A spoof on the American Dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream: Come to the end of your life—your one and only precious, God-given life—and let the last great work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells.

Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: ‘Look, Lord. See my shells.’ That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life.”

When I finally ‘retire’ I want to continue to contribute to building a kingdom that will last forever. That’s just what Bob and Christine are doing. Take five minutes to watch the video and let them inspire you.

You might not be able to commit all your time and resources in the way that Bob and Christine are doing but maybe you could consider sponsoring a child through Compassion.

You may even decide that you’d like to do a little more and help organise a Compassion Sunday for your church.

Whatever you do, don’t waste your life.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Don’t Waste Your Life? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Don’t Give Up On Living

I was watching a Youtube video a couple of days back that showed a rather elderly lady dancing up a storm at a concert. She was extremely agile, not just for someone her age, but for someone of any age. A friend said that he’d like to be able to do that when he reaches her age.

His comment made me think about what I’d like to still be able to do when I reach my senior years. For me it’s always been cycling. I’d like to still be on my bike in thirty or forty years. While I’d like to retire from work at some stage, I don’t ever want to retire from life.

What is it for you? Dancing wildly? Cycling? Some other kind of exercise?

Another thing I want to be doing when I’m much older is enjoying life with my wonderful wife, Pauline.

I’d love to hear from you. Have you seen someone in their senior years and thought I hope I’m still doing that at their age?



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Don’t Give Up On Living? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.

Retiring at 100

No thanks!

According to John Beard, director of the World Health Organisation’s Department of Ageing and Life Course, we could soon see people working up to the age of 100. I have no idea if I’ll still be alive at 100 but I do know that I won’t still be working. I’m hoping that if I do reach that age I’ll still be healthy and active but I think by that time I’ll be happy to let someone else have a turn at working.

“Ageing is too often portrayed as a burden on society,” he said before the Global Federation on Ageing conference opened in Melbourne on Monday.

“Sure, there will be impacts on health service delivery and pensions, but society overlooks the skills and experiences of older people.

“By marginalising them, we force them to become dependent on younger generations.”

Mr Beard, an Australian based in Geneva, envisions an older generation that is plugged in to the latest technology as people in their 80s and 90s choose to stay at work.News.com.au

Apparently only 20 percent of retirees surveyed in a recent US study are happy about their life of leisure, saying that they’d prefer to still be working.

I know that many people say that they’d get Bored if they retired but I think they just lack imagination. I’m sure that I’ll find plenty to do when I retire. There are plenty of activities to keep me busy and more than enough good causes that could do with some help. I don’t see retirement as a chance to sit back and do nothing but an opportunity to change focus and gain more control over what I’m able to put my efforts into.

What about you? Would you want to work until you’re 100? What age do you think you’ll retire? What will you do with your retirement years?

I’d love to get your thoughts. Please leave a few lines in the comments section of this post.



Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Retiring at 100? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.