A few years ago, my children gave me a pickleball paddle for Christmas. I was so excited. I had recently noticed some people my age playing the sport as I strolled by a local court and had mentioned to my kids that I’d like to give it a try. I wasn’t new to racquet sports. I’d played a lot of tennis in my life and even some racquetball when I was younger, so I felt I could master this new (to me) sport. Sure enough, as I practiced more and more with my husband and family, I began to improve and could hold my own. My favorite thing is playing doubles with my 24-year-old daughter who’s an excellent athlete. Needless to say, we dominate! Our family isn’t competitive at all (wink, wink).

The point is: You are never too old to learn something new or to dive deeper into something familiar.

I’ve recently experienced this not only in a physical endeavor like pickleball, but in a more cerebral way, as well.

Last year, our church began a new program that offered college level Bible classes to anyone in our church who would like to dive deeper into God’s Word and Christianity, in general. There are classes on hermeneutics, church history, New Testament, Old Testament, theology, and evangelism/discipleship. It really piqued my interest, however, I wasn’t sure I could do the work. It had been many years since I’d finished college. I told the teacher (one of our pastors) that I’d like to “audit” the class. In other words, go to the class and listen but not have to do the work for a grade (cluck, cluck).Well, he immediately told me he knew I could do it and talked me into signing up fully—tests, projects and all.

Our first semester was Old Testament Survey and then it was on to Hermeneutics, the study of the principles of Biblical interpretation. I learned so much in those classes and couldn’t wait to get there each week to hear more. I made an ‘A’ in both classes. I guess at this age I had better focus and more motivation than in my college days (where I’d much rather have been out playing tennis than studying). I’ve signed up for the new year of classes at the Bible Institute and am looking forward to learning even more.

Getting older doesn’t mean giving up. It doesn’t mean becoming stagnant, or ceasing to learn new things. In many ways, the senior years of life allow more time for learning and practicing new skills, whether they be physical or intellectual.

Most importantly, we are never too old to learn more about God’s Word as we seek to understand it and to accurately teach it. If you have the opportunity to get involved in a deeper study of God’s Word, do so. You may find that many of the things you thought you knew, weren’t true at all. Sometimes we believe and promote ideas we’ve heard throughout our lifetime that may not be accurate. We’ve not studied the Word deeply for ourselves, in context, with precision and care.

There’s no question that as we read the Word on our own, the Holy Spirit illuminates its meaning and allows God to speak to us and move us to a closer relationship with Him. Reading the Bible on your own is essential to the Christian life. Studying the Bible in an intellectual setting does not diminish or negate this fact. But God also created our amazing brains to reason and to think in an organized and methodical way, as we bring context, cultural setting and logic into our study.

My late-life journey is as exciting as ever as I continue to learn and grow and to experience new things. I hope yours is, too.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB)

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it that I will keep your righteous judgements.” Psalm 119:105-106 (NASB)

“For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

“Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your Law” Psalm 119:18 (NASB)