When we're 64

In the early days of Sue and I getting to know each other, when we were both still living with our parents, Sue came round to my house.  As she sat in the lounge, I went to the kitchen to make us both a coffee.  An LP was playing in the background, and it so happened that the track currently playing was the popular Beatles song, “When I’m 64.”

I made the coffees and headed back to the lounge.  I was rather surprised and non-plussed when, as I entered the room, Sue called out to me, “The answer’s no!”  In that moment I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about or what she meant by her words.  It was only when I realised the part of the track that was playing as I entered the room, that the meaning of her words dawned on me.  The song includes these words: “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?”  It was that question which Sue was answering!  Perhaps she thought that I’d timed things perfectly for her to hear that question?

I must confess that it took me an awfully long time, and many failed attempts, to eventually persuade Sue to agree to marry me (persistence paid off!)  We were married in 1978, and although we have had our troubled times, we are still together.  I must say, however, that those words have remained in the back of my mind over the years – what would happen when I reached the age of 64?  In May just gone, that milestone came and went, and I am delighted to report that Sue hasn’t deserted me.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago she also reached the age of 64, so we are now in the same boat together!  Despite the ups and downs of married life, and the weaknesses and failings which we each have, we have remained committed to one another.

Commitment isn’t a very popular word these days.  We live in a throw-away society, where once we have sucked the usefulness out of something it seems natural to dispose of it and move onto something new, whether that be a car, an item of clothing, a job, or even a relationship.  When Jesus invited men and women to follow him, he always stressed the cost and the level of commitment required.  He stated, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9.62), and ‘the one who endures to the end will be saved’ (Matthew 24.13).  There is the clear call to life-long commitment.

The God who promises, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’, who is utterly committed to us, calls us to respond in commitment to him and to one another.  No easy task, but completely worth it!