When his wife died, Davis erected an elaborate statue in her memory. He hired a sculptor to design a monument which showed both her and him at opposite ends of a love seat. He was so pleased with the result that he commissioned another statue - this time of himself, kneeling at her grave, placing a wreath on it. That impressed him so greatly that he planned a third monument, this time of his wife kneeling at his future gravesite, depositing a wreath. He had the sculptor add a pair of wings on her back, since she was no longer alive, giving her the appearance of an angel. One idea led to another until he’d spent no less than a quarter million dollars on the monuments to himself and his wife!

After using up all his resources on stone statues and selfish pursuits, John Davis died at 92, a grim-faced resident of the poorhouse. But the monuments.... it’s strange... Each one is slowly sinking into the Kansas soil, fast becoming victims of time, vandalism, and neglect. Sad reminders of a self-centered, unsympathetic life. There is a certain poetic justice in the fact that within a few years, they will all be gone.

By the way, very few people attended Mr. Davis’ funeral. It is reported that only one person seemed genuinely moved by any sense of personal loss. He was Horace England.... the tombstone salesman.

John Davis’s tombstones are at testimony to an empty life - a wasted , futile life.

Listen to what Solomon says about the man or woman of God - words from the Bible which are a complete contrast to the life of John Davis.

Ecclesiates 5:18-20: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot. Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil - this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.”

These verses describe a man who is satisfied with life - enjoying himself - content - not thinking so much about the passage of time but the experience of enjoying God’s blessings and his relationship with God.

This morning we are focused on retirement - and especially how to find fulfillment in retirement. Retirement is not the end of life. If I could misquote Winston Churchill, “Retirement is not the end. Nor is it the beginning of the end. But, perhaps it is the end of the beginning.”

For those of us who are looking forward and planning for retirement - and for those who are retired - we want to focus this morning on what God says about retirement - Two truths from scripture - two truths of many - but two truths which are important to consider if we are to find fulfillment in our retirement.

1. WHO YOU ARE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU DO

My twenty year High School reunion is coming up next year. So this last week I pulled out my Senior Yearbook and started to reminisce just a little about people I have not seen in a long time. As I sifted through the faces, stories, and memories, I began to think about the things that we once thought were important. It’s interesting how our priorities change with the passage of time. Retirement is a study in priorities - a time to focus on what is really important.

Lee Iacocca, in the June 24, 1996 edition of Fortune magazine said this, “What do guys like me do who’ve had the world by the string? I got some notoriety... and made some money in the car business... now that chapter has closed, and I don’t think much about cars anymore. You can plan everything in life, and then the roof caves in on you because you haven’t done enough thinking about who you are and what you should do with the rest of your life.”

Fulfillment comes as we place a greater value on who we are - as a person - than what we achieve - what we do - in life.

Jesus put it this way - listen to the parable He told - recorded for us in Luke 12:16-21:

“The land of a certain rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come: take you ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ - Now it’s time to enjoy retirement - time to collect on my IRA - But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

If you want to find fulfillment in life - start now and continue in retirement - focus on deepening your relationship with Jesus Christ - do whatever it takes to grow spritually and develop your inner qualities of “Christlikeness.” Do what it takes to become “rich toward God.” We can never outgrow - out mature - or retire from the need for Bible study and seeking to understand God’s word for our life.

Some people find it hard to retire because their entire life has been defined by what they do - not who they are. They are a pastor - a doctor - a lawyer - or some other profession - how much of our lives are tied closely with activity, accomplishments, and tangible things - like salary, prestige, involvements, roles. Their self-worth and prestige is tied to what others think of what they have achieved or their own estimation of their productivity. They lay up for themselves tremendous accomplishments. But, when they retire, there’s nothing left - life is empty and all that has been achieved becomes worthless. Jesus tells us that there is a greater priority for our lives - being “rich toward God.”

The second truth is this:

2. A CHRISTIAN NEVER RETIRES

A believer cannot stop being a Christian - cannot stop giving priority to spiritual growth - cannot stop serving God - so much as he or she can stop breathing and hope to live.

David Packard - the man who build Hewlett-Packard into a $31 billion company and gave more than $1 billion to charity said this, “You shouldn’t gloat about anything you’ve done; you ought to keep going and try to find something better to do.”

The philosopher John Dewey, at the age of 90, said, “When you are no longer interested in climbing mountains to see other mountains to climb, life is over.”

In Luke 12:35ff, Jesus asked His disciples, who is the faithful and sensible servant, whom his master will put in charge of his other servants - his possessions - which servant will be blessed and rewarded? The answer? The one who the master finds hard at work when he returns home.

At the age of 65 God does not give us a gold watch and tell us to go out and play golf for the rest of our lives. God has a much more fulfilling plan for us. Fulfillment in life comes as we keep on going - keep moving - keep working - continually face new challenges. And the same is true of our life in Christ. It’s never finished. God expects of us faithful fulfilling service until the day He calls us to Heaven. And, there is a blessing in serving God Our service for Him is always an adventure - always a challenge - always fulfilling.

There are different stages of life - each has it’s own challenges and rewards. When we’re young our focus is on formal education, careers, perhaps marriage and raising kids - in the later stages of life our responsibilities shift - and there is a greater flexibility in how we can prioritize our time. Even though the circumstances of our lives may change - the priority should always be to know God - to serve God.

Living the Christian life together - ministry - service to God - sharing the Gospel - these are an adventure which is shared between generations. No one generation can say, “We’ve done our job.” or “I don’t have time for that.” Christian service - servanthood to our master Jesus Christ - is a life-long fulfilling partnership with each generation respectfully working together to the best of their ability - circumstance - and time to be who God has called us to be and to bring others to salvation.

Listen again what Solomon says to us in Ecclesiates, the man or woman of God, “he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.”

William Randolph Hearst, who amassed one of the great fortunes of our time, ended his days amidst all the opulence and splendor of the castle which he built in Southern California, sitting in a basement, playing over and over again the movies of his studio in Hollywood, in an effort to capture a degree of enjoyment from the past.

For many people retirement is a trip down memory lane - an unfulfilling journey where life is lived in the past - the monuments have been built and days are spent waiting to die.

When people discover the richness of life which God has provided they do not think of the past, or even talk about it - there is too much fulfillment in the present. Enjoyment does not come from possessions, or from riches. Nor does it come from companionship, from popularity and fame, from the approval and the admiration of others. Enjoyment comes by knowing the Living God and living in service to Him.