Work No Longer

The LORD said to Moses, "This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites."

Numbers 8:23-26

Don’t take this literally. Retire, yes! Work no longer – no! Use your God-given talents in other ways. Help people.

Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest when he was 33 years of age. But that did not stop him from doing even greater things. He made a concerted effort to help the people of Nepal. He climbed the mountain in 1953, but he lived a long enriched life and died in 2008.

We are told to be ministers to our friends, family, and to witness. That does not stop at some arbitrary age.

Many people find when they retire they have noting meaningful to do with their time. But that is not God’s plan. Listen and pray. Act and obey.

Life takes on new meaning when we invest ourselves in others.

Our Daily Bread – July 22, 2010