We Have an Encore Waiting - Part 1
Mark E. Haskins
October 24, 2024
It was true, he was retiring after a distinguished career. There were no outward clues as to his age except for the gray hair (still full and thick), the leathered wrinkles of one accustomed to the outdoors, and as one friend noted, the barnacles that had latched on over the years. At a work-related social event, I seized the moment to ask his wife what he was most looking forward to during his upcoming “retirement years.” I thought I would hear the usual: playing with the grandkids, traveling to places long-delayed, or spending more time in the garden and on the tennis court. But in her likeably sincere and direct way, she corrected me. These were going to be his “encore years!” What a perfect reframing! She nailed it.
For followers of Jesus who see most or all of our working lives in the rearview mirror, I believe the description of those years as “encore years” is exactly what God has in mind for us. In fact, it is prime time for us to “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores [emphasis added] to the end of time. Oh, yes!” (I Peter 4: 10-11, MSG).
Through the years, and by His grace, we have been tutored, we have matured, and we now know some of what we didn’t even know we didn’t know earlier. And, we have a lot of living yet to offer Him and those around us. It is not that our lives prior to the encore years have been merely an off-Broadway version of life, not factoring into what really matters. They did matter. They matter now because we can “speak wisdom. . . but we speak God’s wisdom” (I Corinthians 2: 6-7, ASV) and it is through “experience that we [have acquired the] knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God” (Romans 12: 2, BBE). Thus, we arrive at the threshold of our encore years with a wealth of “wisdom and experience of the Spirit” (Colossians 1: 9, BBE).
Embarking on the encore years provides a transitional moment to take a bow, recalibrate, and commit to giving it all we’ve got, bringing forth what is most true about who God made each of us and planted in our hearts’ desires. The world needs, God wants, gray-haired, barnacle-covered men and women in His Kingdom. He wants them to sing their songs, dance their dances, tell their stories. He wants those with life etched on their faces to radiate their love for Him. Regardless of the world’s calculus about our status, accomplishments, or nest eggs, the encore years are prime time in the Kingdom.
Just as the Broadway star who comes out to the standing ovation of an appreciative audience, we must say, “You are welcome,” to the Lord when He whispers, “Thank you. . . well done to date,” in our ears. And to our “You are welcome,” we will find ourselves quickly adding, “Thank you Lord for a life with you and for all that you have shown me about myself, others, and yourself. You have been the loving maestro. . . the patient director. . . the beautiful music in my ears . . . You are the masterpiece!” With both reflection and anticipation coursing through our veins, we sense the fuse of desire being lit. The moment is here. He raises the curtain for our encore. He takes our hand. He looks us full in the face saying, “Let’s blow their socks off.” And then, as Churchill wrote upon becoming Prime Minister with WWII igniting, we too can say with our encore years in sight:
“All my past life has been but a preparation for this hour”
For me, the encore season has begun. As I look ahead, I pray three things:
Lord, fuel in me a desire that is unmistakably from you and for your purposes.
Lord, foster in me a humble devotion to be your ambassador, your warrior, and your sweet fragrance in this world.
Lord, bless me with the presence of others to share the journey through the coming encore years. Amen. Amen.
Whether our encore years are now or start in a few months or a few years, He is preparing us. The joys, the sorrows, the successes, and the failures yesterday, today, and tomorrow are shaping us for that season. The refining of our desires, the lessons learned, the intimacy we experience with Him are unique for each of us. Please, do not discount any of that. Lean into all that is at work in you. Ask for revelation as to what He wants you, the you that you truly are, to do.
I have heard encore years referred to as the “gun lap,” the “4th quarter,” and “the home stretch.” Whatever the term, the Lord has patiently and lovingly helped us arrive there. We are now elders in His kingdom and most likely sages, too. What do elder sages do? First and foremost, they seek ever greater awareness of and intimacy with our Heavenly Father. They continue to seek His will, and they are attuned to His presence. Elder sages downshift to meaningfully engage with those around them. They share their wisdom when asked and they are quick with compassion and very slow to judge. They are authentic in their humility and strong in their faith. They live from their heart and readily offer their hands and heads. They start each day with a prayer, “Lord, I love you. What are you up to today? Help me to see my moment for you in this day.” They are quiet listeners and careful questioners. They see the vein of gold in others and encourage them to mine it for God’s purposes. They enjoy His handiwork in the everyday. They know His ever-unfolding love story and find rest in being His beloved. In short, His elder sages are those that, when we get to know them, we simply say, “I see Jesus in them.”
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Note: An earlier version of this blog was posted by Gary Barkalow for his Noble Heart ministry.
ASV (American Standard Version), Published in 1901, in the public domain.
BBE (Bible in Basic English), Published 1949/1964, in the public domain.
MSG (The Message) Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
