Retirement IS in the Bible!

Numbers 8:26 They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service.

Retirement is in the Bible!  I have always heard it said that there is no retirement in the Bible, but it is there!  

I had never noticed this before, but according to the verses immediately preceding this one, the Levites, who were the chosen ones to serve as priests in the tabernacle, were to serve from age 25 to age 50, at which time they were to “retire.”  However, their retirement was not to be completely without responsibility.  Their retirement was to be spent keeping guard and keeping guard was regarded as a ministry to the other priests.   

This got me to thinking about retirement in general and my own retirement in particular.  First of all, I see that retirement is not “the end” of work.  It is merely a change of responsibility.  These priests were still capable of doing something; it just was not the same something they had been doing previously!  And so it is with my own retirement.  I may not be doing the same thing I was doing during my younger years, but God has something for me to do in these later years.  I have struggled in these early years of retirement, thinking of all the things I have done to serve the Lord in the past and have at times felt frustrated because I do not feel able to do much of those same things (I am getting older!).  But this verse reminds me that it is not a matter of my not having a role to play … I have a different role to play now.   

That begs the question: WHAT is that new task for me to fulfill?  The answer is right there in this verse as well.  The retired priests ministered to their brothers by “keeping guard.”  I do not see this as my indication that I should become a security guard at the church!  Then how do I “keep guard?”  PRAYER is my answer.  I can help protect the church, its leaders and its members and its ministries, by praying.   It is my new responsibility and in keeping that responsibility I will be ministering to those for whom I am praying.

Minstering to others can happen in many forms, one of which is prayer (and granted, that is probably the most important form), but my ministry to others can be my focus in other areas of my activity as well.  I am beginning to see that my interest in paper crafts such as card-making can also be a ministry to others.

Here's to a productive retirement ministry!