Be kind, humble and forgiving

“Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” – John 21:18

Wow! What sobering words spoken by Jesus as to the reality of life. William Shakespeare in his pastoral comedy “As You Like It” likens life in seven different stages – the helpless infant, the whining schoolboy, the emotional lover, the devoted soldier, the wise judge, the old man still in control of his faculties, and the extremely aged, returned to a second state of helplessness.

This scripture came into my thoughts as I read and watched videos of young people of our land fighting each other like “savage beasts” and thinking nothing of using guns to usher others into a speedy eternity. Sometimes I am saddened as I see the elderly who were once young, attractive, and energetic, at the almost seventh stage of their life, and in many cases being taken advantage of along with their savings and possessions. Again, I think of my father’s words that if you do not want to get old, die young.

The psalmist also tells us that our life is as a story that is told, and it is up to each and every one of us to do our best to make our story a bestseller! There are times when a person dies, the family take the opportunity to write the book of the deceased person’s life as a flowering fiction, much to the amazement of readers.

To make entry into this world from our mother’s womb, the journey ends in the tomb, but the seven stages of our lives can be rewarding and meaningful as we adapt to each and every stage, taking heed to wisdom that we number the days of our lives. So, how is it that the young believe that it will always be sunrise? How is it that they take no heed of tomorrow and continue to live violent, unproductive lives as if they are animals without a soul.

I share this experience of many years ago: I was still in bed very early one morning and saw a bit of light enter through a crease in the curtain, and not long afterwards, the whole room was filled with daylight. The thought came to me clearly, youth is like sunrise, it does not last very long. Our lives are divided into night and day, with the day turning up the heat in our various experiences and the night being long and anxious for the day.

After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, then to his disciples – and in the 21st chapter of St. John, he appeared once more to seven of his disciples at Lake Tiberias. It was Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John, the sons of Zebedee and two other disciples. Before Jesus appeared, Simon Peter announced that he was going fishing and the others joined him, but they toiled all night and did not catch anything. When they pulled to shore Jesus met them, but they did not recognize him as he asked whether they caught anything; they said no. He told them to go back to sea and cast their net on the right side of the boat which resulted in a heavy haul of fish.

When they came to shore, Jesus had fish and bread, but he told them to bring some of their fish and invited them to come and dine. They realized it was Jesus. After eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, son of John, three times if he loved him. Peter answered, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you”. Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

Continuing, Jesus told Simon Peter that when he was younger, he got dressed and went where you wanted; but when he is old, he will stretch out his hands and someone else will tie him up and take him where he doesn’t want to go.

Jesus was telling Peter how he was going to die. We are here on planet earth to live productive lives, mindful that we are only for a season. We cannot afford to enjoy our youth at the expense of misery in our old age. We are to do all the good we can – be kind, humble and forgiving. If we have been blessed with wealth, we are to share it with the poor rather than storing up. Indeed, we can live our seven stages with grace and gratefulness.

• E-mail haystreet241@gmail.com or rubyanndarling@yahoo.com. Write to P.O. Box 19725 SS Nassau, Bahamas, with your prayer requests, concerns and comments. God’s blessings.

The post Be kind, humble and forgiving appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/be-kind-humble-and-forgiving/