Ian Knox - Finishing Well: A Gods-Eye View of Ageing

Ian Knox qualified as a solicitor in 1966 at the age of 22, was National Evangelist with the Covenanters from 1970 to 1973, returned to the law and finally became a senior solicitor with Coventry City Council before joining the Church Pastoral Aid Society in 1982. He became Director of the 40:3 Trust in 1986, engaging in evangelism and teaching throughout the British Isles and across Africa until his retirement in 2009. He was made a canon of Webuye Cathedral in the diocese of Bungoma, Western Kenya, in 1999 and ordained priest there in the Anglican Church in 2005. He continues an active preaching ministry across Africa and in England. In January 2020, Ian Knox was made Canon Missioner at All Saints Cathedral, Boroboro, Diocese of Lango, Uganda. He is a successful author, whose books include Bereaved, Older People in the Church, 50 Ways to Share Your Faith and 100 Instant Faith-Sharing Talks.

Ian has been married to Ruth for over 40 years. They have four sons and ten grandchildren. They currently live in rural Northumberland.

Ian Knox has written a book about ageing that is full of wisdom and wit, from a global perspective, and redolent with Scripture. Thankfully, most of us will grow old (the alternative, as Ian notes, is to die young), and this book helps us approach that with hope and courage and purpose. He also writes as one who is arriving there himself, and so is mercifully short on glib responses to the challenges that come with the final stages of life.

Christian churches, people and charities are conspicuously active in working with older people. Accessible to leaders and doers, this book is a vital call to set this activity in the biblical context of older age so that it can be of eternal significance.

For some, this book could prove to be lifechanging. Ian Knox has provided us with both an encouraging and challenging manuscript for those exploring one of the big questions of life, How do I finish well?

Ian Knoxs wealth of wisdom, experience and research are all encapsulated in this book. In reaching out to those in later life, we touch Gods heart and so does this book. It deserves to be read by every Christian.

Finishing Well is an excellent read enjoyable, accessible and comforting, with the constant reminder of what the Bible says about older age and the plans God has for His people. As we are reminded of how God sees later life, we have so much to gain in our own lives as well as our churches and wider communities. This book will both inform and engage, and I commend it to you.

First published in Great Britain in 2020

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Copyright Ian Knox 2020

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 (inclusive language version, 2001 edition) by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.

Every effort has been made to acknowledge fully the sources of material reproduced in this book. The publisher apologizes for any omissions that may remain and, if notified, will ensure full acknowledgements are made in a subsequent edition.

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For
Joshua, Amelia, Elisabeth, Joshua, Joseph, Emily,
Samuel, Daniel, Elijah and Tobias,
who honour me with the name Grandpa

Glasgow is a splendid city. Its coat of arms bears the words Let Glasgow flourish. It is a worthy motto, but it is only a part of the true message. Fourteen hundred years ago, a man called Kentigern led a Christian community and is now acknowledged as the founder of a village that eventually grew into the now great city.

Kentigern is better known by his pet name of Mungo. This godly man, now known as St Mungo, once said this about his place: Let Glasgow flourish, through the preaching of the Word and the praising of His Name. That was his directive as he shared the good news of Jesus Christ, as well as his prayer for the people he loved and for whom he cared. The full quotation can be seen on the walls and interior glass of St Georges Church in Tron, an area of Glasgow. However, the full words of Mungo are rarely used. Somehow, the God bit gets lost.

In my own family, when I was a young man, something similar happened. My Christian parents were married for 25 years. When they reached this milestone, my father said to my mother:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be.

These are the opening words of one of Robert Brownings most famous poems, Rabbi Ben Ezra. Of course it would have been tedious to quote the whole poem of 32 verses, but my father missed the best part, as the first verse in full says this:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God; see all, nor be afraid!

The tragedy was that my parents had less than one more year together before my mother died, very suddenly, aged 45. I am glad they did know their time was in Gods hands, but my father missed that in his only quoting the first two lines.

This is a book about not leaving God out as we grow older. In our zeal for living, it is easy to sideline the One who wants to be there, with us and for us. As we grow older, we want to be faithful to our God, who is always faithful.

In the famous Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming, USA, is a cone geyser which erupts dramatically but also predictably. The experts in the Park can forecast the next outburst, which saves visitors a great deal of standing around waiting. Its name is Old Faithful, and it is my prayer that all who read the chapters that follow, for whatever reason, may find that they can grow old and still remain faithful to their faithful God. If there be a reader who, as yet, does not have that relationship with the God who loves them, I pray that they will discover a true faith as they age.