It’s Never Too Late!

How often have we heard older folks, trying desperately to learn something new, do something new, something different, young eyes watching every move and every misstep, struggling with something that might seem easy for the younger set, prematurely give up, throwing up their hands in frustration, saying, “I can’t do this!  You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!”  This saying is so ubiquitous that most people accept it as a true saying.  We actually believe that it is somehow true.  The public consciousness has somehow actually accepted the idea that as we age we lose the ability to learn new things and change.

Although there are certainly mental diseases and disorders that correlate with a person’s age, I want to wholeheartedly point out that it is never too late to change, grow, develop and learn.  I believe this because I have seen it happen over and over again.

Unfortunately, our Christian Churches have many times adopted this false idea that once a person reaches a certain age that it is too late and they are lost, and then waste little or no effort on them.  I have heard, more than once, a pastor standing at the pulpit crying out to parents, “Raise your children right!  Get ‘em saved early!” then they mutter some statistic to prove their point, “95% of people who are saved are under the age of 18!” as if once a person turns 18, it’s all over for them and you might as well give up.

The truth is that Jesus never closes the door and never walks away.  He is always standing there, waiting for us, with open arms, ready to accept repentant sinners, no matter the condition or circumstance, no matter how long it has been or where we have been.  None of that matters!  It’s never too late!