“Lord, Let Me Not Live to Be Useless!”

INTRODUCTION

One of our friends here remarked not long ago, “Half of the people here feel that they are useless.”

When John Wesley grew old, his constant prayer was, “Lord, let me not live to be useless.” And the Lord granted that prayer. Wesley lived to be almost 88 and could preach almost until the end. An observer wrote of seeing him preach in his last days with an assistant on each side holding him up in the pulpit.

Some people don’t mind being useless. They only need pleasure.

But most of us want to think we have some purpose in life, and for us to be useless is discouraging.

A life of television, books, jigsaw puzzles, cards, and Bingo passes the time and gives us the opportunity to be with people, but we aren’t satisfied if all we have to do is amuse ourselves.

I. Lately, I have been thinking about how God’s promise of eternal life motivates us to live for God until the end of life.

A. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul devotes a long chapter to the Resurrection. He argues that Christ rose from the dead and because he rose, we also will rise again. He writes excitedly about God’s promise of resurrection. And then at the end of the chapter he writes—

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters,

be steadfast, unmovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that, in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.

In this way, St. Paul is telling us that our hope of resurrection should spur us on to be diligent in our work for the Lord.

B. In reading an old book last week, I came upon a startling statement by a 17th century pastor—Thomas Traherne. He wrote this: “It ought to be a firm principle rooted in us, that this life is the most precious season in all Eternity, because all Eternity dependeth on it. Now we may do those actions which hereafter we shall never have occasion to do.”

We look forward to a glorious future in Glory with Jesus, but we should never forget that this life is our preparation for that glorious eternity. Opportunities lost here cannot be recovered in the world to come. When we get to Heaven, we will live with the consequences of the choices we made on earth.

When we get to Heaven, it will be too late to prove our love for Jesus by patient faithfulness in times of suffering.

When we get to Heaven, it will be too late to bear witness to our Lord Jesus and invite others to join us on the journey to the Promised Land.

When we get to Heaven, we will no longer have opportunities to serve the poor and afflicted.

When we get to Heaven, we will no longer be able to honor God by walking by faith. In Glory, we will no longer need faith—everything will be clear then.

This life is a time of testing, of proving, of serving—of laying up treasure in heaven. In heaven our lives will be full of joy. But still, the Bible insists that in the coming world we will experience the consequences of our actions in this world. Maybe we will have regrets.

II. We all want to be useful. You want to serve Jesus, or you wouldn’t be here this afternoon. But we can’t do what we used to be able to do.

A. A few years ago, I could go to church for work days and paint all afternoon. I planted flower gardens around the church. I taught Sunday school. I drove people to appointments.

Some of you sang in choirs, provided hospitality in your homes, wrote big checks for worthy causes, cooked meals at church.

You volunteered in various ways.

You found satisfaction in serving people in your work.

You raised children, cared for the sick, visited the shut-ins.

It would be interesting to know all the ways the people in this room served others in the name of Jesus in days gone by.

We can’t do what we used to do, but we still want to be useful. Some of the most inspiring people I have known were old people. We don’t have the same opportunities younger people have. But we have some opportunities they don’t have.

B. In Psalm 92, we read—

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

Planted in the house of the Lord,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age;

they will stay fresh and green.

We can be weak in body but strong in spirit. We may be limited, but there are still things we can do. We can “still bear fruit in old age!” That’s God’s promise.

III. Here’s a list of things we might do—even with our limitations—and still be of use in our world.

A. We can pray. We can thank God for people in our past who have blessed us. We can pray for people we don’t know, and for people we know. We can make a list and pray through it every day.

     

I suspect that when we get to Heaven and find out how much was accomplished by prayer, we will wish we had prayed more. And our prayers, not only change things for other people. Our prayers also change us. Prayer keeps us connected to God. Prayer keeps us connected to people with needs. Prayer keeps us from being useless.

B. We can bear witness to our faith.

I have found that as I get older, it is easier to talk about God, heaven, and faith. People are less likely to be offended by old people talking about eternity. And the nearer we get to our Homecoming, the more credible our witness is.

We can take time to listen and sympathize. We can encourage others by caring, by honest compliments, and by sharing our struggles, so others know that they aren’t alone.

A few days ago, I was talking to my sister in Chicago and she told me about a friend of hers who is coming near the end of life on earth and is an impressive witness to the reality of God in her life. This friend has written her obituary and has written out her testimony to be read at her funeral.

C. We can write letters. Nowadays a handwritten letter in an envelope with a stamp on it is a gift. A phone call becomes only a memory; a letter can be saved and re-read. I have letters that I have saved for more than 50 years. They are treasures. Letters are valuable because they take time and effort. We can write letters of appreciation, of encouragement, and of sympathy to those you know and love.

D. We can write checks. I know this is a touchy subject—except that Jesus talked so much about money as a part of faithfulness.

Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:32-34).

I know some of us are fearful that we will live so long that our money will run out. I wonder about this too as we dip into our savings each month. I know some of you support missions because I see the magazines and calendars lying around. For us, who have limited means, to part with money to support a Christian ministry is an expression of faith.

Almost all of us spend some of our money on little indulgences. We spend money on things that aren’t actually necessary, but are nice to have. We can ask ourselves, “What could I do without so that I can have more to give?” For 60 years of married life, Charlotte has kept track of every penny we’ve spent. It helps to keep us honest about what we are spending on things we don’t really need.

Suppose you decided to forego some luxury and send $10—or $100—each month to your church where you intend to have your funeral? It would help you feel connected with your friends back home. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35). There’s joy in giving.

Some people hide behind the idea that giving doesn’t have to be money. But for most of us, money is the hardest thing to give—because we don’t have much, and we worry about it. And because money is hard to give, there is a special blessing in giving. Jesus said, “God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

E. We can do acts of kindness. A resident comes to our door to ask me to open a jar for her. I do her the favor of opening her jar, and she does me a favor by helping me feel useful.

Sometimes the favor is more costly than opening a jar. Some residents do others’ washing—or check writing—or taking them to appointments—or helping them get to dinner on time.

An act of kindness can be done just out of kindness—but Jesus said, “What you have done for the least of these by brothers and sisters, you have done for me” (Matthew 25:40). It is satisfying to think that we are serving Jesus by serving others.

G. We can be grateful. More than once I’ve heard residents criticize those who work for us here because they don’t do some extra thing they would like them to do for them. When I point out how busy our employees are, I’ve heard this: “Well, it’s their job is to serve us!” I want to say, “Yes, it’s their job is to serve us—and it’s our job is to be grateful for their service!” The people who serve us here aren’t getting rich at their jobs. We can help make it up to them by our appreciation.

H. We can pray with people. A hospital janitor was sweeping the floor outside a patient’s room and singing to himself as he worked,

No one ever cared for me like Jesus;

There’s no other friend so kind as He;

No one else could take the sin and darkness from me –

O how much He cared for me!

The janitor looked into the room and saw a dying man. The man was a pastor and he recognized the song and was beating the time with his hand. The janitor went into the room and put his hand on the patient and said, “Lord, put new strength in this man.” A short prayer, but that was a turning point. The man recovered and was soon back serving his church.

One of our men residents told me, “It made me feel so warm when you put your hand on me and prayed for me!” A woman who lived here—she never came to our services—was soon to move to assisted living asked me to bless her before she left. I touched her and asked God to bless her in her new situation.

If you can’t trust yourself to compose a prayer on the spot, you can repeat the Lord’s Prayer with someone who is hurting. As they pray that prayer with you, it may put them in touch with memories of past experiences with God.

Once at a nursing home, I repeated the 23rd Psalm with a woman who had dementia. When I had finished, she turned to me, her eyes filled with tears, and said, “No one ever talks to me like that any more.”

CONCLUSION

Suppose you should become so dependent that you can’t do much for yourself at all. You know you are a burden. But you are not useless. You can be pleasant and thankful. You can pray for those who serve you and let them know how important their work is.

No matter how much we are hurting, we need to try to let those who serve us know that we appreciate what they are doing. We can pray for them and tell them that we pray for them.

I had an aunt who lived to be 100. Beside her bed in the nursing home she had multiple copies of a devotional booklet that she invited her CNAs to take. Some of them would come to her and ask her, “Do you have another one of those little booklets?”

When we began our Bible studies and church services many years ago at Ridge, we had a friend there named Evie. She lived in memory care, and she always came to our Bible studies and church services.

Evie had lost her only two children in infancy. She told me that a little boy at church adopted her as a second mother and would always sit with her in church.

Evie was so full of love that as I watched her walk down the hallway, I saw the CNAs stop to hug her. Evie couldn’t do much except love people. But whenever I came away from seeing Evie, I felt blessed.

Let me close with an old children’s Sunday school song. I’ve never heard it sung, and I’ve never seen it in a hymnbook, but I heard a preacher quote it when I was a child, and I’ve remembered it ever since:

There’s a work for Jesus, ready at your hand,

’Tis a task the Master just for you has planned.

Haste to do His bidding, yield Him service true;

There’s a work for Jesus, none but you can do.