Retired Disciples?
I was having a conversation with a leader in a different church recently, and they asked me a pointed question:
Where do people get the idea that they’ve “Done their time” or that they don’t have to serve the Lord through the church anymore?
And honestly, I have no idea. It’s not a Biblical idea. What Scripture actually does say is helpful here:
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
I think that we generally understand that different people are given different spiritual gifts. Some people are built for taking care of property, others working on service projects in the community, and still others teaching children. We don’t all have to be alike - in fact, that would be counterproductive (Read the rest of 1 Corinthians 12 on that topic).
However, God doesn’t just plan on us to be the same person throughout our whole lives. As we grow in Christ, what we are called and able to do changes.
For example, sometimes when I visit in the nursing homes I run into saints who have served the Lord faithfully for decades, and now they feel useless because they can’t do now what they used to do. When I run into this, I remind them: “You aren’t called to do that any more, but you are still called to be a disciple.” When we are in the twilight of life, we still can love the people around us, we can still glorify God and tell others what he has done for us, and we can still always pray.
What Scripture doesn’t say, however, is that there is a time in life for us to be servants, but after we’ve “done our time” (whatever on earth that would mean!) that we’re finally done with discipleship. That’s not Christianity, that’s consumerism.
There is no such thing as a ‘retired disciple.’
But over time, our service to the Lord does change. Maybe when we retire from work we have more time to serve with kids, to volunteer for church or other organizations, to help young parents, or to lead Bible studies. Perhaps as we get older, we can cultivate a deeper prayer life. There’s not a single answer for everyone.
As usual, prayer is the answer here: God can lead us to what he is calling us to today through discernment and prayer.
