Emphasis Preaching Journal

(The following application could be used by pastors to target seniors in their congregations. It includes an invitational question toward those in older age who may never have made a personal profession of faith.) Theologian and poet Gerhard Frost reflects on the aging process, saying, "God saves the hardest part 'til last, that of growing old." Paul, in today's passage, links Gerhard's idea with a personal inventory of his own spiritual standing before God prior to death. Growing old had been hard for Paul. His final days were spent alone in a cold cell. Companions deserted him.