The following blog was written by Jim Kuswadi, a member of the Wahroonga Preaching Club, to share some reflections on serving Christ in our older years.
There probably comes a time when we are too old to serve the Lord; when old age starts. But when does old age start? I distinctly remember turning 60 and being embarrassed. Embarrassed because 60 seemed so old, and by definition in this throw-away society; ready for the scrap heap, useless. But I still ran an electronics business that supported 20 odd families so maybe I was still useful and old age had not yet started for me. Slowly that feeling of embarrassment disappeared.
When I was 70, I sold the business but I was not yet free to join the proverbial grey nomads touring around Australia or cruising the seven seas. I still had 2 years left of my term as Chairman of the Board of Elders of a big church. A big church as in 8 ministers, 7 congregations in 3 languages plus a bi-lingual one, in 2 locations. Old age still had not started……
Finally, at the age of 73 that was all over, free at last! What would God have me to do now? Has He finished with me? Looking back, I have been actively serving the Lord since I got converted at 21. After graduation and some work experience, I left electronics engineering and went into “full time” ministry between the ages of 26-30.
God used me to start the Australian AFES equivalent of student ministry in Indonesia called Perkantas. Unfortunately, over all these years, apart from a PTC qualification from Moore College I had no other training. So maybe old age had still not started and it was time to do some “real” training at a Bible College.
But the feeling of embarrassment returned; what would my fellow students think if a 73-year-old man plonked down, right next to them? And what about the lecturers who are my children’s age? How embarrassing! I truly thank God for the several good friends and pastors who encouraged me that one is never too old to learn more about God. Besides, they said, who knows what the Lord has in store for you? So I enrolled at SMBC.
I still remember my very first lecture when the lecturer opened with prayer. Wow! What joy came into my heart for the privilege of studying at a Bible college. This is not just getting intellectual knowledge like doing engineering; this is getting to know the Lord better. Another pleasant and humbling surprise was that after a few weeks, my younger colleagues actually wanted to sit with me at lunch time. They often had questions for “uncle Jim” either about personal issues or problems at church. Maybe old people should not be discarded but milked for their experience, learn the lessons from their scars and wounds, not to forget their boo boos.
In December 2018 I graduated, possibly as the oldest student at 75. I only did a Graduate Diploma in Divinity, a course that my younger classmates would finish in one year. But this old man chose to chew over it slowly by only doing one subject at a time. That gave me time to digest and read more widely rather than just pass exams. So, what next? Many friends did ask why I decided to study again. My genuine answer was that I just want to draw closer to God and understand His Word better, and hopefully be more useful in explaining it. But God hadn’t finished with me yet! The following month, in January 2019, my wife Jeannette and I had lunch at David and Maxine Cook’s place. We had a personal issue in ministry and sought David’s wise counsel. He shocked us by advising us to take a break from ministry in Australia and become interim pastor at St Andrews Presbyterian church in Kuala Lumpur. This is a century old, high profile, international church in downtown KL who have been looking for a permanent pastor. My initial reaction was that I can’t possibly be a pastor; I am an engineer! But the long and the short is that we were on the plane 5 months later.
And what a wonderful, amazing and humbling experience those 2 months in KL were! I still remember the first morning walking the 20-30 m from the manse to check out the church and feeling the awe, wonder but also the dread and thinking: “Now you are responsible for the spiritual well being of 300 odd adults”! With the prayer support of 150+ on our mailing list the Lord humbled us and used us to encourage, bring joy and draw people closer to Christ. They invited us back for 6 months the following year but Covid intervened and we never got back.
Never, that is, until this year, 5 years later when we served there again from June to August 2024 inclusive. The second time round was different and yet the same. The same joy of being used by the Lord despite our even older age. The same joy of seeing God blessing people through my preaching, blessing people through our sharing times, blessing by answering prayers. Upon our return to Sydney only 2 weeks ago I received a message from a man who was converted in his mid 50s. Jeannette and I spent a lot of time with him and his devoted wife and we have become good friends. In his typical brevity he just says; “tq for bringing me closer to the Lord Jesus”. Doesn’t that warm a pastor’s heart?
My ministry now is lay preaching. I enjoy bringing the Bible to life, to show that it is rooted in history and not a children’s fairytale. I try to present Jesus in High Definition, 3D and full colour! My preaching efforts have been greatly helped by the Lather and Shave preaching clubs that EP Trust runs. There is still so much to learn!
So when does old age start? Who knows – only the Lord. And in the meantime, let us continue to serve Him joyfully and enthusiastically, whatever age you are!
Jim Kuswadi