He is the father of one of our church leaders.

His name is Andrew and he shared with a glint in his eye about what the Lord has been doing. He had gone on mission trips for years and had seen the Lord’s hand in miracles of healings and in salvation. He had gone with teams and other pastors and missionaries and had seen the word of the Lord spread in Pakistan. In the last few years, his attention shifted to Palawan in the Philippines. He couldn’t stop talking about the Lord. He went up the mountains to reach out to the people in the northern part of Palawan. He later went south to survey the needs there too. And he wants to go back there – alone if he has to. And he is 72 years old.

Life expectancy of Singaporeans is now about 85.

Sir Alex Ferguson, age 72, retired from managing Manchester United.

Jupp Heynckes, age 68, successfully coached Bayern Munich to the German treble, including the Champions League victory over the other finalist.

Lee Kuan Yew is nearly 90.

Andrew reminded me of Caleb of the Old Testament, who said to Joshua, ‘I am this day 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me…give me that mountain…” (Joshua 14:11ff). At 85, he was still appropriating the promises of God and the challenges of faith that God laid before him.

Financial experts may say most Singaporeans do not have enough saved up for retirement. I do not want to dispute that. But  I want to remember the experts who talked about the giants in Canaan, the high and mighty walls, and the veteran warriors guarding the cities. The experts all died in the wilderness. So I will keep my eyes on Jehovah-jireh, God my provider.

I am inspired by Andrew and Caleb and I want to grow old with my eyes on a faith project.