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"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing."  - Paul writing to Timothy from prison in 2 Timothy 4:7-8

As a kid, I remember walking down Main Street in Oberlin, Kansas, and looking in the large window of the Golden Age Senior Center. Joy of joys and a wonder to behold!!  There were senior citizens putting puzzles together and watching television! From that moment, I determined that I would work as hard as I could while I had my youth, so that one day I could do nothing but put puzzles together and watch television!

But that vision of the end of life's journey (the "eschaton" of American retirement), turned out to be a myth playing out in a child's mind. In this article (--> here <--) Ariana George delves into the Christian view of retirement. She reveals that when an individual retires, there is ususally a season of depression that sets in - and that season can last for several years. 

There is no biblical warrant for the American view of retirement - it was unheard of in the First Century. There are biblical principles that apply - standards that if embraced by the believer, will combat the ensuing depression of retirement. 

The chief of those principles is this: never, ever, stop working for God's Kingdom. 

As I look around this neighborhood, I see so many things that need to be done. When I expand my view to the world, the weight of the work is overwhelming. However, God has given us the life we have in order to make a difference in the place we are planted. It is when we stop working, and try to find satisfaction in the absence of work and purpose, that depression sets in. We were made for work from the onset of creation, and God has never said that there is an age when we should stop working and simply live for our own amusement. 

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." Genesis 2:15

I am blessed to be a part of a local church where senior saints have not stopped striving for the salvation of those in their families, their friends, and in this neighborhood. Building the Kingdom of God in the Northside of St Joseph is a hard job, and those who have passed the age of Social Security retirement are fellow laborers just like the young graduate, the middle age parents, or any other person of any age!

Praise God for his purpose. It brings joy to our lives and fills us with the hope of the ultimate retirement - when we are in the presence of God in glory!