Scripture is full of sagely counselors. The Epistles, for instance, are all written by older men. Peter, James, and John wrote thirty and forty years after their three-year expedition with Jesus. Peter was a changed man by the time he wrote his letters. His words “Clothe yourselves with humility” (1 Peter 5:5) don’t at all reflect the brash Peter of the Gospels. That rooster did something to him (Mark 14:72). Wisdom hard-earned.
The ultimate elder-sage is God himself, who shows his heart toward us by his appellation Father. He wants to be known and trusted, and he wants to validate his sons and daughters for who they are and initiate them into who they can be. He does so both through direct, personal encounters by his Spirit and through his human agents, including elder-sages who see the glory in a person and call it out. These wise, loving souls see what stands in the way of that person’s glory, his or her woundedness, and carry that man or woman to Jesus for healing.
Not every older person is an elder-sage, but you can learn something from every elderly person—what it is about him that you want to be like . . . or perhaps what you don’t want to be like. Some elders bear such unhealed wounds that they have settled into a cynical, even profane character whose life experiences haven’t translated well into wisdom. But if you are fortunate to have a true elder-sage in your life, a great question to ask is, “What do you know?” Chances are he (or she) will smile, take a deep breath, and then tell you the story of when they learned a lesson you yourself would be wise to heed.
