We belong to God and his desire is for us. That is stronger than any desire sin may have.  As we seek to heed God’s warnings and avoid the danger of sin crouching at our door, we do not do so in our strength but in his mighty power, knowing that we are his.

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. Genesis 4:7
Last Friday was Mountain Day in Japan, a public holiday to encourage people to take some time off in the summer and enjoy the mountains. I decided to brave the heat and climb a mid-sized mountain. At the entrance to the trail, however, I was faced with a warning sign: Beware of Bears! On average bears kill 1 or 2 people every year in Japan and injure several others. As I pondered whether to risk climbing the mountain, another climber appeared so I figured it was safe if I followed him. Some others had obviously heeded the warning and had bells hanging from their rucksacks to warn any bears off.
For the past few days in Japan we have been hearing warnings about a typhoon making landfall today in the west of the country. Flights and trains in that area have been cancelled and people have been urged to take precautions and stay alert. Japan is a country with a lot of natural dangers such as earthquakes, flooding, mudslides, tsunamis and tornados, so it has developed sophisticated warning systems, including alarms on our phones and loud public announcements. Giving people warnings about a coming danger means that they can take action to try to stay safe.
Recently I was reading the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 and was struck there by the warning that God gave Cain. I imagine that most of you know the story of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the older son, worked the soil and his younger brother, Abel, kept flocks. In the course of time the two brothers brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil and Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.
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We live in a world with its own set of one-anothers: one-another brokenness, one-another enmity, one-another manipulation, one-another selfishness. And local churches exist to show a different way of life—a different Lord of life. This Lord reconciles us not only to himself, but to each other, creating one-another love out of one-another pain.

I sometimes think I could be very holy if, after doing my morning devotions, I just stayed in my room all day long. I find that patience, for example, comes easier by myself. Peace, too. I feel a general kindness and goodwill when I’m alone. I imagine myself ready to bear others’ burdens.
But then I leave my room and begin interacting with some of those “others” face to face. And before long, I wonder where my holiness went. Patience now feels fragile; peace goes on the retreat. My theoretical kindness finds itself unprepared for real annoyances, and my shoulders seem too weak for real burdens. People, it turns out, have an irritating way of poking the spiritual fruit on my table, only to reveal just how many of those apples and pears are plastic.
I might prefer holiness to be a more private affair, a halo that hangs over my solitary head. But “holiness,” John Stott helpfully reminds me, “is not a mystical condition experienced in relation to God but in isolation from human beings. You cannot be good in a vacuum, but only in the real world of people” (Message of Ephesians, 184). True holiness may begin between God and the soul, but it finds full expression in community with other people—other wonderful, glorious, frustrating, and sometimes offensive people.
Which explains why, again and again, the New Testament describes the authentically holy life using two simple words: “one another.”
The One-Anothers
Around fifty times in the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles tell us to feel, say, or do something to “one another.” We are to care for one another and bear with one another, honor one another and sing to one another, do good to one another and forgive one another. And then there is the grand, overarching, most-repeated one-another, the command that “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14): “Love one another.”
The one-anothers do not exhaust our obligations to other Christians (many communal imperatives do not include the phrase “one another”), but together they offer a brilliant picture of life together under the lordship of Christ—and not only under the lordship of Christ, but also in the pattern of Christ. For, rightly grasped, the one-anothers are nothing less than the life of Christ at work in the people of Christ to glory of Christ.
Consider, for example, how even in a community-oriented passage like Colossians 3:12–17 (which includes three one-anothers), Paul can’t stop talking about Jesus. Our new character—compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient (verse 12)—reflects “the image of its creator,” Christ (verse 10). We forgive “as the Lord has forgiven [us]” (verse 13). Our unity reflects “the peace of Christ” (verse 15); our words flow from “the word of Christ” (verse 16). In fact, whatever we do in community, we do “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (verse 17). For here, “Christ is all, and in all” (verse 11).
The one-anothers, then, are earthly dramas of heavenly realities; they are the love of Christ played out on ten thousand stages. So, with this pattern in mind, we might fruitfully consider the one-anothers in five categories: have his mind, offer his welcome, speak his words, show his love, and give his grace.
1. Have His Mind
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count [one another] more significant than yourselves.(Philippians 2:3)
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another.(1 Peter 5:5)
We might easily launch into the one-anothers wondering about all we should do for our brothers and sisters in Christ—and indeed, the one-anothers call us to do much. But before we say or do anything for one another, God calls us to feel something toward one another. “Have this mind among yourselves,” he says, “which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). And this mind, or attitude, can be captured in one word: humility.
It is possible—frighteningly possible, I’ve discovered—to externally “obey” the one-anothers with a mind utterly at odds with Christ. It’s possible to greet one another with a smile that hides bitterness; and encourage one another with a grasping, flattering heart; and bear one another’s burdens with a messiah complex. In other words, it is possible to turn the one-anothers into subtle servants of Master Self.
Humility, however, clothes us with the others-oriented attitude of Christ. Humility puts a pair of eyeglasses on the soul, allowing us to see others without the blurring of selfishness. And humility, in its own miniature way, follows the same descent Christ took when he “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death” (Philippians 2:8). It goes low to lift others high—and doesn’t scheme for how it might lift self too.
In a Spirit-filled community, we all (no matter how tall) look up at each other, not down; we jostle to kneel and hold the towel; we choose the seat of the last and the least—because we remember how Jesus did the same for us.
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Written by Grover E. Gunn |
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Retirement is no substitute for heaven, but retirement can be satisfying. We must find our identity and contentment in our relationship with Jesus Christ. With that foundation laid, we can find meaningful ways to worship and serve God during our retirement years. Living our final years of life as life was meant to be lived should be our goal, as opposed to trying to check off a “bucket list” – a term first used in 2004 – of self-indulgent projects before we “kick the bucket.”

A few years ago I was talking to a member of the church that I pastor, who is about the same age as I am. He said, “Pastor, you do know that we are now in the decade of death?” He was referring to the decade of life during which most people die. Well, no, I hadn’t thought about it, but he was right. The biblical rule of thumb on human longevity is found in the Psalm 90:8, where Moses says, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty …” This is a very relevant thought today. The demographic bump called the baby boomers has begun to enter the decade of death. What should we think about that or do about that? If we don’t ask such questions, we are like a pilot flying an airplane after skipping the class on executing a safe landing.
Distinctively Christian Retirement is divided into four major sections. The first is about common misconceptions that people have about retirement. Many think that a few decades of fully funded leisure at the end of life is almost a natural right. The reality is that this is a very modern notion. The book even gives specific dates. The modern concept of retirement originated in 1883, and 65 was designated the magic age of retirement in 1916. Over time, the concept of retirement went from something unimagined to something resisted to something expected. Even today, the modern concept of retirement is largely limited to people living in the more affluent economies of the world. Even in richer economies, the goal of providing a fully funded retirement for all is proving to be financially impractical and politically unsustainable.
Too many people today also anticipate the years of retirement as a secular substitute for heaven. Such an expectation can only result in disappointment. Unstructured days with no meaningful purpose can quickly become boring and even depressing. Retirement years do not last forever, and their enjoyment can be diminished by the effects of aging. A truly satisfying ultimate hope must be unending and unencumbered by the curse of sin. It must be something perfect that yet grows fuller every day. That is heaven properly understood. Heaven will not be a static existence but a growing experience of worshiping and serving God, the essential activities for which humanity was created.
Retirement is no substitute for heaven, but retirement can be satisfying. We must find our identity and contentment in our relationship with Jesus Christ. With that foundation laid, we can find meaningful ways to worship and serve God during our retirement years. Living our final years of life as life was meant to be lived should be our goal, as opposed to trying to check off a “bucket list” – a term first used in 2004 – of self-indulgent projects before we “kick the bucket.”
Distinctively Christian Retirement’s second section looks at what the Bible has to say about the mature years of life. The west especially prioritizes youth and beauty, and as a result undervalues the elderly. As a general rule, long life is a gift from God, and the elderly have wisdom gained from experience. We should also accept that the limitations associated with aging are a part of God’s plan. We should not be surprised by them or bitter because of them.
The book examines the lives of some in the Bible who ran the race of life well to the very end. The book also examines the lives of some who started well but faltered near the end. There are lessons to be learned from both. The book also examines the Bible’s call to obedience as it relates to the elderly. The elderly should not rationalize that they are exempt from seeking first the kingdom of God or from loving God with their total being because of the limitations that come with aging.
The third major section of Distinctively Christian Retirement is about some of the practical challenges of the retirement years. In our elderly years, we need to thread the needle of being open to change without compromising the teachings of Scripture. The elderly should not romanticize the past or refuse to recognize that some changes have been for the better. There is a place for reconsidering some traditions, and there is room for some compromises with the younger generation on how things should be done. Yet the elderly should retain their firm commitment to the principles of Scripture as non-negotiable.
Many years ago, an elderly saint told me that getting old was not for the faint of heart. He was right, and the Bible also recognizes the challenges of aging. The book has some helpful comments on Barzillai’s thoughts on old age (2 Samuel 19:34-35) and on the metaphor laden poem on aging found in Ecclesiastes 12. Yet God takes a special delight in using the weak to accomplish His purposes, and our weaknesses stimulate us to prayer.
The fourth and last major section of Distinctively Christian Retirement is on godly living in retirement. As we age, our opportunities to earn money tend to diminish, and this can be frightening. Yet our resources at all stages of life are gifts that God has entrusted to us as His stewards. Our final hope should not be in our bank account but in God. While trying to be good stewards in supplying their own needs, the elderly should also be generous when the opportunity arises, even when the cost is living a more modest lifestyle.
The elderly should also seek to be involved in the local church. The church can overlook the elderly and isolate them through age-based ministries and worship services. Yet there needs to be a mixing of the generations in the church through which the young have an opportunity to learn from the experiences of the elderly and to minister to the special needs of the elderly. The elderly can contribute to the spiritual health of the church simply through faithful attendance of worship services and certainly through spending time in private prayer for the church. The elderly can even be involved in evangelism and efforts to disciple the culture for Christ. The elderly shouldn’t be deterred by the immensity of the task. As the book says,
A small amount of salt influences the whole dish; you notice when someone has added a pinch of salt to a stew. A small amount of light influences the entire room; even one candle added to a previously dark room means people can see. Christians should be like this in the broader world.
In addition to giving insight and counsel on retirement, this book would also be helpful as a source of ideas for a sermon at a nursing home or at a funeral.
The author of Distinctively Christian Retirement is Simon van Bruchem, Pastor of All Nations Presbyterian Church in Perth, Western Australia. He has served there since 2007.
Dr. Grover Gunn is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Pastor of MacDonald PCA in Collins, MS. 
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