1. My first comment is this: I believe that practically every Bible truth that can currently be known has been found and commented on to some degree by someone, somewhere, at some time.

Rarely today, the cults notwithstanding, does any really new Bible truth get discovered.

Now, I realize that all Bible truths are new to us as individual persons at one time or another.

And I realize that there can be an increase with time of the number of people who have Bible knowledge and that the amount of truth widely known can increase.

But, given our location in history, we can be pretty sure that someone else already knows or knew the Bible truths we know.

[To illustrate: In his book, God's New Society: The Message of Ephesians, on page 276, John Stott refers to a treatise on Ephesians 6:10-20, The Christian in Complete Armour, written by the Puritan minister William Gurnall in 1655. In the "eighth edition of 1821 it runs to three volumes, 261 chapters and 1,471 pages, although it is an exposition of only eleven verses." And on the following page, Mr. Stott refers to Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones' "exposition of the same eleven verses in two volumes ... totalling 736 pages."]

2. However, and this is my second comment, the other side of that coin is that rarely -- or, more likely, never -- at any one time does any one person or group know all the Bible truths that can be known.

There are two reasons for this:

a. There are a great many things to learn about the Bible and our capacity to learn is limited.

b. Even simple Bible truths are usually so profound that we will never exhaust them.

So there is always room for increase of personal knowledge and for sharing what we know.

Recognizing that many others probably already know what we are learning should not inhibit us from continuing to study and share.

At least we are on the same track.

It may be of some help to you.

"Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly, from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject.

"Release me from craving to try to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my "vast store of wisdom," it seems a pity not to use all of it -- but you know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

"Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point! Seal my lips on my aches and pains -- they are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that even I may be mistaken."

Younger people often have some of these same misconceptions about older people.

Somehow it's gotten about that older people have risen to some sort of plateau of achievement, that they are always wise, that they have solved all their problems, that they have conquered sin, that they know the answer to every question.

After all, doesn't the Bible ask

Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? (Job 12:12)

And doesn't the Bible say that

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life. (Proverbs 16:31)

1. For openers, it is my observation that, as I get older, the problems do not get "less," they get "more."

That's probably not very good grammar, but that's the way I picture the situation.

The problems do not necessarily get more in quantity, but they get more in intensity and seriousness.

The stakes go up, not down.

2. Also, I have observed that awareness of sin gets more, not less.

That's not to say that older Christians are continually thinking of new and different ways to sin, but it is to say that older Christians are becoming more aware of the extent of sin and the depths of its effects.

As much as I like the hymn, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus," I have to say, as our Pastor did awhile back, that "the things of earth" often get brighter, not dimmer, as one grows in the Christian life.

Of course we must continue to "fix our eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2), and of course certain "things of earth will grow strangely dim," things that might once have tugged us in the wrong direction.

But there is another type of awareness where certain things grow startlingly brighter, things that once were hidden and now become exposed.

We see the effects of this growing awareness of sin illustrated in Paul's life when we look at the way he described himself as he got older.

In 1 Corinthians 15:9, when he was probably in his middle to upper 50s, Paul called himself "the least of the apostles."

In Ephesians 3:8, in his lower 60s, he called himself "the least of the saints."

In 1 Timothy 1:15, in his upper 60s, he called himself "the chief of sinners."

I realize this may be stretching the point somewhat, but as Paul got older, he did not tend to describe himself as getting "better."

Of course, he was getting "better"; he was "pressing on"; he was "becoming like Christ."

But, all the while Paul was becoming more aware of the scope and magnitude of the mercy and grace and glory of God, he was also becoming more aware of how far short of God's standards he was falling, more aware that he was the "chief of sinners."

3. My third observation is that as I get older, I am becoming more aware of my deficiencies, my limitations, and my diminishing capabilities.

I am becoming acutely aware that certain things just never seem to "go right" and have never "gone right" for me.

Therefore, I am increasingly less inclined to "practice my scales," so to speak.

And I find myself trying harder than ever to avoid those things that don't "go right" in order to achieve some sort of stability and "ease" in life.

To be blunt about it, I am getting tired of solving problems -- my own as well as those of other people.

4. And, finally, it is becoming increasingly clear to me why all these things I've mentioned are happening.

The apostle Paul gives the reason in 2 Corinthians 4:7.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

"This treasure" that Paul is talking about is, of course, the knowledge and experience of "the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

In the verse previous to the one I just read, this gospel is described as "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6).

[I might interject here, before I go any further, that I believe these two verses -- 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 -- are candidates for what I would call one- or two-verse summaries of the overall message of the Bible. This category includes verses like John 3:16, Mark 10:45, Romans 3:23-24, Colossians 1:13-14, and 1 John 4:10. In addition, I would suggest that 2 Corinthians 4-5 are two of the most pivotal chapters in the entire Bible, easily of the same caliber as, say, John 6 or Romans 5.]

As Christians, we carry this treasure, this gospel, in fragile containers, "jars of clay" or "earthen vessels," as Paul calls them, bodies and personalities that are liable to breakage and that are perishing.

And because we are perishing -- or dying, to put it bluntly -- it is part of normal human life to be aware of various deficiencies, of problems, and of sin.

The reason life is this way, as Paul goes on to explain in our verse, is that God has arranged things to show that the "all-surpassing power" of the gospel is from him and not from us -- and, I might add, not from any other part of creation.

As Gideon's men broke their jars to expose their lighted torches (see Judges 7:15-21), we "break," as it were, to let God's light shine out.

Unfortunately, because it is not always possible for us to see "the meaning of our life's broken fragments" (Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, p.16), we are constantly faced with the temptations of "feelings of resentment and discontent" (Bonhoeffer, p.23).

The temptation of bitterness is a life-long battle and the intensity increases with age.

To counteract it, we must be aware that when circumstances squeeze us, we should pray for grace to live for Christ, and not that our circumstances should change.

Circumstances are appointed by our sovereign God.

They do not defeat him.

1. As pointed out by missionary Jim Eliot in the book, Shadow of the Almighty, written by his wife, fattened sheep in perfect condition go into the temple to die, not to have a good time.

They are to be sacrificed, not to have their needs met.

And this is to be done with gladness, joy, thanksgiving, and praise.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100)

2. Similarly, ripe grain is to be harvested, not put on permanent display.

[Jesus] said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29; see also John 4:34-38)

The harvest benefits the farmer, not the crops.

Ripe crops are to be cut and gathered, then threshed -- beaten rigorously and at length to separate and purify -- ground up, cooked, and eaten.

I know all this sounds terribly morbid.

We will come out of the "valley of the shadow of death" in a few minutes, but we have to stay in the shadows for awhile yet.

I know funerals are probably not our first choice of things to go to, but we all need to attend funerals occasionally because they force us to focus our attention on things we usually do not like to think about.

They interrupt our normal lives which are almost always taken up with plans and activities based on living, not dying.

They challenge our priorities and our routines by reminding us that life is short and that spiritual things are longer lasting that physical things.

That much is familiar to most of us.

As we all know, when a person dies, we tend to remember the good and happy things about that person and to forget the disappointments, the criticisms, the suffering.

And why not?

What good can come from dwelling on unhappiness when we can no longer do anything about it?

When someone dies, the bad things are put away, as it were, and the good things are displayed.

And isn't that what happened when Jesus died?

A suffering life came to an end.

The bad things were put away; they were defeated, destroyed, buried.

God remembers them no more.

And, because we as believers "died with Christ" (Romans 6:8), the same applies to us.

God now sees, not the dead Jesus, but the resurrected Jesus, and we believers alive "with him."

The good things, the helpful, beneficial, healthy things are what God sees, and so should we.

Funerals should help us remember that.

1. The first group of questions contains some of our "whys."

Why is normal human life often so difficult?

Why do we have to suffer and die?

Why is no one immune from life leading to death?

If God's eternal purpose is to transform us into his likeness, they why is it taking so long and why is it so hard?

2. The second group raises the subject of healing.

Must the body and personality waste away?

Should we not resist?

Is not healing a sign of renewal?

We are all being pressured, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) just as Jesus was knocked around when he was here on earth.

Our bodies and our personalities are dying just as Jesus' human body and personality died.

We need to be aware that we die daily (1 Corinthians 15:3).

And daily life patterned after Jesus' life is one of misunderstanding, suffering, and death.

Healing -- which, incidentally, is always temporary -- shows that God remains in control of the process no matter what the end, and indicates that there will be a final victory.

However, the struggle will not stop until death.

And we rejoice in the HOPE of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. And HOPE does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:2b-5)

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the HOPE of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

We are headed in that direction now; we are being prepared for eternity.

We are being "renewed" (2 Corinthians 4:16); we are being "transformed" (2 Corinthians 3:18); we are bearing "fruit" (John 15:2).

That is why we "press on": (Philippians 3:14) as the apostle did.

That is why we "do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).

In all our experiences, God has eternity in view.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (2 Corinthians 4:11-12)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed DAY BY DAY. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:12-18)