REMEMBER YOUR GRAND CREATOR!

Remember Jehovah Now!

The wholehearted worshiper of Jehovah desires to take up His service as soon as possible and to serve God the rest of his days. However, what are the prospects of a person whose youth is spent in vain because of not remembering the Creator? Under divine inspiration the congregator says: "Remember, now, your Grand Creator in the days of your young manhood, before the calamitous days proceed to come, or the years have arrived when you will say: 'I have no delight in them.' " - Ecclesiastes 12:1.

No one delights in "the calamitous days" of old age. But the elderly who keep God in mind are joyful. For instance, aged Simeon took the infant Jesus into his arms at the temple and joyously declared: "Now, Sovereign Lord, you are letting your slave go free in peace according to your declarations; because my eyes have seen your means of saving that you have made ready in the sight of all the peoples, a light for removing the veil from the nations and a glory of your people Israel." (Luke 2:25-32) Eighty-four-year-old Anna also remembered her Creator. She was always at the temple and was present when the infant Jesus was taken there. "In that very hour she came near and began returning thanks to God and speaking for Jerusalem's deliverance." - Luke 2:26-38.

Present-day Witnesses of Jehovah who have grown old in God's service may suffer the pains and limitations of advanced age. Yet, how happy they are, and how much we appreciate their faithful service! They have "the joy of Jehovah," for they know that he has assumed his invincible power toward this earth and has installed Jesus Christ as a heavenly powerful heavenly King. (Nehemiah 8:10) Now is the time for young and old to heed the exhortation: "You young men and also you virgins, you old men together with boys. Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for his name alone is unreachably high. His dignity is above earth and heaven." -Psalm 148:12, 13.

Z"The calamitous days" of old age are unrewarding-perhaps very distressing -to those who give no thought to their Grand Creator and who have no understanding of his glorious purposes. They have no spiritual comprehension that can counterbalance the trials of old age and the woes that have beset mankind since Satan was cast out of heaven. (Revelation 12:7-12) Hence, the congregator urges us to remember our Creator "before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds have returned, afterward the downpour." (Ecclesiastes 12:23) What is the significance of these words?

Solomon likens the time of youth to the Palestinian summer when sun, moon and stars shed their light from a cloudless sky. Things then look very bright. In old age, however, a person's days are like the cold, rainy season of winter, with one downpour of trouble after another. (Job 14:1) How sad it would be to know about the Creator but fail to serve him in the summertime of life! In life's wintertime of old age, things darken, especially for those who have passed up opportunities to serve Jehovah in their youth because of Involvement in vain pursuits. Regardless of our age, however, let us 'follow Jehovah fully,' as did faithful Caleb, a loyal associate of the prophet Moses. -Joshua 14:6-9.

Next time: Effects of Advancing Age

Watchtower, 1999