Religion: A Pastor Ponders

Growing Older Victoriously

by Pastor William Jenkins

August 26, 2005

Catherine Deneuve, the French actress who symbolized beauty and elegance for three decades, said she wasn’t thrilled about growing older.

As she touched the wrinkles on her cheeks, her response to growing older was, “It hurts”. That famous cat, Garfield, said, “Life is like a warm bath. The longer you stay in, the more wrinkles you get.”

One thing sure about all of us, whatever our age may be, is that we are growing older and that is a wonderful thing. My grandmother had a saying, “The older you get, the more you get like where you’re going.”

She was referring to whether we age with grace or grumpiness, fitting ourselves for heaven or…not. Since we are all growing older the really big question is, In what way are we growing older?

In the Old Testament, Caleb gives us a lesson in growing older victoriously. To understand how Caleb did it we must revisit Numbers 13. Joshua and Caleb had returned from their spy mission full of enthusiasm and excited about possessing the Promised Land. A poll was taken and the Promised Land lost. (Popular opinion polls seldom get it right.)

Their failure of faith sentenced Israel to forty years of wandering in the wastelands. Forty years!! Caleb would have to keep his dreams on hold until he was eighty years old.

There on the border between the Promised Land and the Wasteland, Caleb began to grow older victoriously by not allowing the disappointments of life to diminish his faith in the future. In the midst of his disappointment God gave Caleb a promise that one day he would arrive in the Promised Land and possess it.

Three things make life worthwhile: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. Caleb had all of these. He grew older victoriously by trusting a Divine promise. For every mile the Israelites traveled away from the Promised Land, in his mind and heart Caleb was traveling a mile closer.

After forty years of wandering and five years of conquest, Caleb is ready to claim his possession. One problem: The giant Anakites live there in great fortified cities. No problem.

Whenever challenges arise, Caleb had learned to live victoriously by leaning on the Lord. His response, “It will be that the Lord will be with me and I shall be able to drive them out just as the Lord has said.” (Joshua 14:12)

Here is something to ponder for your next birthday: To grow older victoriously is to realize that youth and age are not times of life; they are attitudes of the mind and spirit.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org