As I left he said, ". . . before the end." Meaning, the end of his life on this planet. We talked a bit about what eternal life might look like, and he was animated, excited, hopeful. "Maybe the Lord will say, 'We've got a problem on a planet over there. Take a look at it and see if you can handle it for me." The idea of having something useful to do while living in eternity was exciting to my friend.
On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln was sure there was nothing past this life. He believed in God, Providence, the purpose of God in creating the American experiment and he even worshiped with his wife from time to time in church. While she held out hope for seeing her beloved boys who preceded her in death, he did not.
In many cases older people see to have stronger beliefs, and become more regular in public worship attendance. In other cases older people seem content to do other things with their lives than attend church. Do they have stronger beliefs? Or, do they have stronger doubts? Or, are they content with 'however it turns out' and content with their lives, overall?
There does not seem to be any single thread that informs aging with regard to faith.
I know that we are not as enthused to attend worship as we once were. Although we are experiencing a great deal of pain, sitting in a pew with people we know and like and listening to yet again another sermon does not entice us. We go, some, but we are not devastated when we don't.
Yeah, we are aging. We we have pretty strong beliefs that don't seem to need "church" to remain strong.
What about you? What is your experience of faith as you age? Leave a comment and let us know.
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