Ancient Seventy

08.10.13

Jeremiah 6.16 16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. (ESV)

Yesterday was my birthday – F.Y.I.: I turned 58. Forty years ago I thought 58 was a long, long way off. Yesterday it showed up right on schedule. Time flies when you’re having fun…

So, today we (my bride and I) began getting some stuff ready for a garage sale which we intend to hold in our yard (not our garage) next Saturday. The older I get the more amazed I am at the stuff we’ve been lugging about for all these years; stuff that reminds us of the old days, and stuff that should’ve been dealt with in the old days – I think we call it ‘crap’.

70, is now twelve years off and it’s a heckuva lot closer than it was twelve years ago. Twelve years ago I might’ve even toyed with a thought of (perhaps) immortality. (Just kidding – but I sure wasn’t thinking about 70!) And now birthday 58 has come and gone and 70 is eleven years and three-hundred-sixty-four days away.

The word, Seventy, has an ancient ring to it. Just saying it makes me feel older. But ironically, the seventy year-olds I hang around don’t seem all that old to me. But seventy is a time of wisdom and reflection on life lived and experiences gained. (Not every seventy-year old is that wise or experienced, but they’ve all seen many days and they are who they are as a result.) Some of the brightest people I know are seventy…just sayin’.

In Jeremiah 6, God calls His people to seek the ancient paths; the paths that are proven true and the paths that we give them rest. The problem was they had sought new days and new ways that had led them to the brink of overthrow by foreign powers and impending disaster. It was a call of mercy to get them to quit being stupid about the future and invest in what had already been established and what would lead them safely through the storm that was coming.

So… birthdays and garage sales. Birthdays come and birthdays go, it’s what we do with them that shows what we know. Garage sales are a reminder – at this age (58) of what is really important and what isn’t. Garage sales are a way to say good-bye to 58 and a view toward 70…and a real reminder to invest in what is important as the end becomes brighter and brighter like the sun coming up on a new day.

And more than anything, those ancient paths are the only promise of future peace and rest for my soul. Seventy isn’t so bad and doesn’t sound so bad if God is my God and His established ways for me are in fact, my ways. It’s worth thinking about as one begins to think more and more about finishing well…