Last week, my wife, oldest son and I went to see the Disney movie UP (in 3-D, no less). Not to necessarily promote the movie, but it was one of the best stories I have ever seen in an animated film.
Most adults I know who have seen it admit to getting misty eyed as the movie deals with the life of one boy full of dreams who grows into an old man that never fulfilled many of those dreams. One day, he when it appears he's headed to the retirement home, the hobbled widower begins the wild quest to fulfill his late-wife's greatest dream...to visit a giant waterfall in South America. I'll save the rest of the details, and you'll have to watch the movie to see how it ends.
While I watched the film, one of the elements that struck me was the contrast between the child and elderly versions of this individual. The younger's mind was filled with great adventures and the desire for exploration. The older had settled for the heartbreaks of life, the squashed dreams and the lost love of his life. As it turned out, the older man had never really forgotten those dreams of his youth. He still had them, but didn't think he could ever fulfill them -- until he tried.
All of this made me think of a couple of things. The first was the realization that even though they may not appear to, many elderly folks around us may still have life dreams they would like to accomplish before their time is up. That's a facinating concept, and it would be neat to see more of the elderly attempt to fulfill those dreams.
The second thing I thought about is more spiritual, and comes out of Joel 2:28 where the prophet writes about old men dreaming dreams. The passage in Joel is a reference to God pouring out His Spirit on believers, and this is one of the effects. It's a beautiful and wonderous image, mainly because the portrayal of the elderly we see around us is that of hobbled and slowed individuals who don't seem to have any dreams left to accomplish or the desire to complete what they dream.
The picture Joel talks about leads me to believe that we have a lot more Abraham's and Moses' around us than we realize. Today, we live post-Christ, in a time where the Holy Spirit has been poured out on Christians. So, we should be seeing the fulfillment of Joel 2:28, where the sons and daughters prophesy, young men see visions, and old folks dream dreams. But, do we actually see this stuff happening in America?
I believe it's happening, but only in limited circles. We don't see Joel 2:28 taking place in much of American Christianity, and I believe it's partially due to the complacency that is rampent among the entire society. Complacency chokes out dreams; squeezes away the desires to fulfill them. Another piece of this puzzle can also be attributed to fear. We fear what we cannot see or do not know. The Joel 2:28 work of the Holy Spirit is the kind of thing that might create fear in people, even believers, who aren't used to experiencing them.
But, according to scripture, Joel 2:28 and the events we see in the book of Acts should be commonplace in Christianity today. It's time to wipe the cobwebbs out of our aging minds (even mine of 35 years), begin to accept the dreams the Holy Spirit brings to us, and then follow through on those visions God gives us.
Don't grow old gracefully. Grow old active for Jesus.
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