Reflections on Youth and Strength

I had planned to write an article on the Jews and had several references, but I needed one more reference item which I could not find. It was a lecture I heard on the internet by a historian and I needed it to complete the article, but try as I would, even with prayers, I could not locate it. I finally concluded that the Lord did not want me to write the article and I yielded to him. Looking at the news, it is probably better to not write on that subject with the rise of neo-Nazi and white-supremacy groups. We do not want to be misunderstood or connected with people that promote violence.

Here I am, without an article, writing on my sixty fifth birthday, young, in terms of the average age of Israel Truth advocates. Like many middle-class Canadians, I do not have the finances to retire yet, so I keep working. Fortunately, I have good enough health to maintain a forty-hour work week, so the company I work for is content to keep me on. Lately I have been thinking about a scripture from the book of Isaiah which speaks about the strength and vitality of righteous people. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40: 31. This verse speaks about the strength of youth and I believe it is a promise all of us can claim in the kingdom age. We shall be given new bodies with which to worship the Lord and those bodies shall be eternally young. I find the part about mounting up with wings as eagles intriguing. Will we be able to fly in the sky with our resurrection bodies? Wait and see.

Some of the heroes in the Bible were incredible. It says of Moses, “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” Deuteronomy 34:7. He had the strength of youth, but the Lord took him because his time was up, and he was not allowed to enter the holy land. Then, there was Elijah, who ran at top speed to match the speed of Ahab’s chariot for over twenty miles. (I Kings 18:46). Surely the Spirit of the Lord empowered those prophets in such a way that we cannot understand. We are not like that, but I believe we will be mightier than they were when we have our new bodies in the kingdom age.

Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11. I believe he was referring to the righteousness of John the Baptist. When we are in our resurrection bodies in God’s kingdom all of us will be more righteous than John the Baptist ever was. However, I believe we will also be more powerful and energized than any of the Old Testament prophets.

That is all fine for the future, and we trust in the Lord’s promise of the kingdom, but can we have strength and vitality in this mortal life? I believe we can, and if we pray for the power and healing of the Holy Spirit to be released in us, he will give us enough strength to do the work he has for us. We must obey the health laws about what meats to eat and we must eat the green herbs for our healing, (lettuce, cabbage, celery, parsley, broccoli) to name a few.

I hope this article has encouraged many of you who are getting on in years. We have the promise of eternal youth and strength, but more important than that, we have the promise of an eternal love relationship with God. Some of us may not die but may be alive when the Lord returns. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:16-18.