daily java

Daily Java:

King David was now very old, and no matter how many blankets covered him, he could not keep warm. (1 Kings 1:1)

I just watched Rocky Balboa again. It was a good movie, but it made me sad. There are things in life as you get older that you have to say are over. This was the last Rocky film. He is around my age so there is no way he can credibly do this again. So he has to quit.

But still, Rocky has been around all my adult life since the first one in the 1970's. And now it is through. So many actors have gotten old (which is of course the natural order of things). The Star Trek people are either dead or so old they look weird, the idea of Harrison Ford doing another action flick is ludicrous, all of them are old now so it has to stop.

I see them getting older and it reminds me that when people look at me, they do not see the healthy, handsome, strong, virile man they used to. Well, maybe they were on something when they did, but still, I am not what I used to be.

In fact, no one is. Anybody who thinks he is the same as he used to be is foolish and full of beans. That is why it is funny to see people like rock stars and movie stars trying to act and dress as they did twenty or thirty years ago. They look foolish. Madonna and Cher are perfect examples.

We have to admit the fact that we are getting older. It is hard and not very much fun, but it is true. We have to acknowledge that we have been here for a while.

You figure. I remember when the Beatles came out. I remember, in fact, when Elvis came out. I even remember when this country was a good one with men acting like men and women acting like women and children – you know. I remember paying (and this is true) 9 cents for a gallon of gas. Houston, TX, had some phenomenal gas wars. I remember touch tone phones coming in. I remember giant cars and 15 cent large fountain Dr Peppers.

In fact, I remember so much that sometimes I get tired of remembering it all. And I start wondering if I need a bed warmer like King David had in 1 Kings 1. Of course, Ella gets mad when I bring it up, so probably not.

But the body begins to betray you. Thursday night, I began my nightly ritual of 100 pushups (I do them every 40 years like clockwork) and threw my shoulder out. And there are other things.

But I have to acknowledge that age is real and that I, like every other human being who lives very long, has to go through it. I suppose that the age factor is the only thing our Lord never had to go through. He died early.

But it is something that is common to all older people. Sooner or later, they get older and tired and sooner or later they get cold, no matter how many blankets get piled on them.

But, even though we get tired, the grace of God never does. The mercy of God never does. The love of God never does. As Lamentations 3:22-23 says The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

His blanket never quits working and his love never ends. He is God.