Men, old men, you don’t get to retire from the church.

I shouldn’t have to say it. But I do. Often.

For some reason a retirement mentality has crept into the church. Men equate the church with their vocation. They think to themselves, “If I work hard enough serving Jesus during my 30’s and 40’s then I can coast when I get to my 50’s. After all, I’ll have put in my time. I get the double retirement from business and church.”

Not true.

You don’t get to retire from Jesus. Why not?

Your Resume is Never Enough

The gospel is not about what you have done for God. You cannot prepare a good enough spiritual resume to earn a desk job with Jesus. Your resume remains bleached white, embossed lightly with the scrawling cursive script, “unworthy sinner”.

No, the gospel is about what Jesus has done for you. He has given you his resume, Christian. And it is a resume like no other—perfect at every bullet point. It is a resume that earns you the privilege of life long service to God.

You’re not the executive that longs for sandy beaches. You’re the hardened soldier that wants to see things through to a sandy, battle-field grave.

Your IRA is Redeemable at Death

Older Christian man, Jesus has earned for you an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is more amazing and opulent than whatever you’re imaginging right now. Yup, still more imagining that what you’re imagining right now. It is the express presence of God and the tangible, undeniable assurance of his massive pleasure, never ending.

But you don’t truly get at it when you’re 70 ½.

You get a taste of it now. But most of it is not yet.

It’s reserved till your death to assure you that death really doesn’t have the last say in your life. And the present experience of future glory is heightened by diligent labor in the kingdom of God.

What is next?

We’ll be taking a glance in the next few posts at 3 admonitions from the Bible on how grumpy old men can and should pursue Jesus until the day he puts them in the grave.

We’ll look at:

1. Don’t be a Jerk
2. The Fountain of Youth has Been Found
3. Be Reproductive