Too Old?

"You are the light of the world." Matthew 5:14

God has limitless ways of reaching people. So if you feel that you don’t have the ability to reach others for Christ, think about 76-year-old Ethel Hatfield. Desiring to serve her Lord, she asked her pastor if she could teach a Sunday school class. He informed her that he thought she was too old! She went home heavy-hearted and disappointed.

Then one day as Ethel was tending her rose garden, a Chinese student from the nearby university stopped to comment on the beauty of her flowers. She invited him in for a cup of tea. As they talked together, she had the opportunity to tell him about Jesus and His love. He returned the next day with another student, and that was the beginning of Ethel’s ministry.

Ethel was delighted to share the gospel of Christ with these students, because she knew He has the power to change lives. His gospel “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

Precisely because of Ethel’s age, Chinese students listened to her with respect and appreciation. When she died, a group of 70 Chinese believers sat together at her funeral. They had been won to Christ by a woman who was thought to be too old to teach a Sunday school class! —Vernon C Grounds

In the strength of the Lord let me labor and pray,
Let me watch as a winner of souls,
That bright stars may be mine in the glorious day
When His praise like the sea-billow rolls. —Hewitt

Taken from "Our Daily Bread"