Living a long life on earth is not considered a curse but a blessing

DEAR CHAPLAIN>> My parents are getting older and it is very painful to watch. They have failing health and they can barely get around without assistance. They can hardly see, hear, or enjoy life and they’re only getting worse. These are kind people, who lived a good life, and attended church regularly when they were able. If God is so good why would he be so cruel as to allow good people to get old and suffer such misery and the humiliation of old age? Signed, Is God Really Good DEAR IS GOD REALLY GOOD>> Thank you for your question. Yes, the aging process can be heart wrenching to watch, especially if it’s someone you’ve known and loved your whole life and remember when they were in their prime having their health and youth. It’s true that God inflicted us with the punishment of old age and death, but he did not cause it.

When God told Adam not to eat of the tree in the Garden of Eden or else he would surely die, that was exactly what he meant and God can not go back on his word. So when Adam and Eve disobeyed, it instantly brought into existence sickness and death. It affected not only the human race, but everything Adam had authority over, including the plant and animal kingdom. The dying process can be a slow decline as in old age, a rapid decline as in a terminal illness, or a sudden decline as in a fatal heart attack.

Either way, all who die before Jesus returns will suffer some form of decline and death before they leave this earth. God does not discriminate. And the truth is, we all deserve the death sentence we receive because none of us are all good. According to Romans 3:23, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God does have the power to stop and reverse the curse, but he will not at this time. When the fall occurred, God in his love and mercy immediately devised a plan to redeem us, giving us another chance to get it right and to live with him again, eternally in our prime.

His plan is this: Since we chose to disobey God, in order to be restored to our previous condition and position, we have to choose to believe on him who completely obeyed... his son Jesus, who was sent to earth to die on the cross for our sins, who was resurrected, and who is now alive and well in heaven with all power in his hands. Then our souls will be saved, and when we pass through this life we can live forever with him, and all other believers in a beautiful, glorious paradise. So, we can either look at the aging process as getting close to the end, with sickness and death, or we can see it as getting closer to a wonderful new beginning with restored health and life. But no matter what, as Christians, in all things we ought to thank God for his goodness and his mercy because he didn’t have to let us live at all.

That’s why biblically speaking, living a long life on earth is not considered a curse but a blessing (Ex. 20:12), even with the ailments of old age. And It’s God’s favor that we live long enough to see our children’s children (Ps. 128:6). It’s all a matter of perspective. I pray for your parents’ peace and comfort during this season of their lives. Ask the Chaplain is written by Rev. Dayna Spence, an ordained minister, licensed evangelist, and chaplain who’s served as a hospital chaplain and is currently serving as a hospice chaplain Chester County area. Please email “Ask the Chaplain” at 4thechaplain@gmail.com or write to, PO Box 1284, West Chester, PA 19380.