Nearing Home by Billy Graham (best book club books for discussion txt) 📗

angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).

In the weeks before her death, my wife, Ruth, repeated these verses over and over to us. Ruth was always thinking of others. This was her secret for getting through so much of life with joy. She never focused on her problems, she turned her attention to Christ, and He always led her to someone who needed a word of encouragement or a listening ear.

My sister Catherine was in a nursing home several years before her death. She had restricted mobility, and her health was fragile. But she knew all the residents and patiently listened to their concerns. She showed them the compassion of Christ and had many opportunities to witness. The Lord used her even in her own hours of weakness.

I have been told about an eighty-six-year-old lady who is dealing with debilitating illnesses, yet she goes from church on Sundays to the local nursing home to visit the elderly, read Scripture to them, and pray for them. She looks forward to this each week. She’s focused on others.

A ninety-six-year-old grandmother has “lots of time at home alone,” she says. “I just sit in my chair and go through my prayer list. My goodness, there are so many people to pray for that it seems I run out of time.”

Another lady inching close to one hundred looks forward every week to helping deliver Meals on Wheels “to the old people.” She’s focused on people.

The Lord blesses people who bless others, and He gives grace to those who focus on the things that please Him.

Life is seldom easy as we grow older, but old age has its special joys—the joy of time with family and friends, the joy of freedom from responsibilities we once had, and the joy of savoring the little things we once overlooked. But most of all, as we learn to trust every day into His hands, the golden years can be a time of growing closer to Christ. And that is life’s greatest joy.

NEARING HOME WITH GOD’S STRENGTH

True joy is derived from depending on the Lord Jesus. He is the One who supplies our strength in weakness, for when we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). While it is important to put our own house in order, we must not forget to make the things of God the center of our thinking and doing. This was certainly the state of mind for the prophet Haggai, who wrote the second shortest book in the Old Testament at the approximate age of seventy. Haggai was stirred up by the Lord to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. In turn he stirred up God’s people by rebuking them for allowing the house of God to remain in ruins in their homeland: “Give careful thought to your ways. . . . You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. . . . Why? . . . Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house” (Haggai 1:7–9).

What stirs me about this two-chapter book is Haggai’s rebuke along with his encouragement. Haggai mobilized God’s people to take care of God’s business and build up His house by giving them hope: “Be strong. . . . For I am with you” (Haggai 2:4).

We may be successful in putting our personal affairs in place, but if we do it at the sacrifice of the more important—putting our spiritual affairs in order—we miss the joy and purpose of life. The Bible says, “A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength” (Proverbs 24:5 NKJV). Strength is found in the wisdom of God, and that is at our disposal whether young or old.

Are you concerned only about taking care of business in a world that holds you captive? Or are you setting Christ at the center of your life with the assurance that you will abide with Him for eternity—the place where hope becomes reality? Your strength may fade, but He is the One who will lift you up and help you stand strong in your weakness. When your faith begins to fade, ask the Lord to stir it up by considering all He has done for you, and be strong, for “My Spirit remains among you; do not fear” (Haggai 2:5 NKJV).

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DEATH’S DESTINATION

The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

—JOHN 5:25 NKJV

I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon.

—JOHN NEWTON

A headline on an Internet site read, “Death, the nation’s #1 killer.” The point was obvious—death is inevitable!

No one can outrun death. It will catch up to all of us eventually. When I was interviewed by Newsweek in 2006 and asked to give a statement about death, I commented that I had been taught all of my life how to die, but no one had ever taught me how to grow old. That statement triggered a lot of interest, and I began thinking about writing this book.

I am certainly no expert on the subject of growing old, but now that I am gaining some experience, I have to admit that not all things get better with age. I have a newfound appreciation— and understanding—when I read this passage in Ecclesiastes 12:

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,

Before the difficult days come, . . .

Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed. (vv. 1, 6 NKJV)

When I read this passage as a young preacher, I can assure you I did not relate to it as I do now. What impresses me now is that Solomon, the wisest king ever to rule Israel, intended for the young to