God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
- Isaiah 30:18
It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.
- Job 34:12
The New Boilerplate
My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover. It was hidden with a box of crafting things. On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these. But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes. So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while. And it will be fun for me. She did not attribute any of the quotes. The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the USA. The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire. After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.
Her quote
“Growing old is like being increasingly penalized for a crime you haven’t committed.”
- Anthony Powell, Temporary Kings
The Discussion
Again, there are arguments on who said it first. Some people have attributed it to French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Maybe it was my mother, but my worst fear growing up was spending the rest of my life in prison for a crime that I did not commit.
Looking back on my childhood, I had the feeling that my mother knew everything before I even did it. I was convinced she had eyes in the back of her head and the teacher at school would call, giving her the lowdown before I got off the bus. Note: I only went to the principal’s office one time, and that was because another boy stole my rain hat and they played keep away on the bus.
So, nightmares of going to jail because of someone else’s crime might have stemmed from that.
The problem with the quote is that all the aches and pains come from stupid things that I did in my life. They were not crimes that I did not commit. I fell down all those times. As for the broken hand, that might really be my mother. When I was little, she loved to pick me up by the wrist and drag me to where she wanted me to go. Is that the reason why my ulna and radius rub against each other? No broken bones, except…
Some of the aches and pains and diseases could be hereditary. Those would be crimes that I did not commit.
But God is just.
We have a sin nature. We commit sins, big and small. And we probably deserve worse.
But our aches and pains that increase as we get older are a reminder that we have sinned in the past. And we are still not perfect. But for those who love God, the pain reminds us that God has promised us no pain in the next life. In a way, I feel a certain longing for that point in life. I am not ready. I still have a lot to write, but I do not fear death. I know where I am going. I may not feel too comfortable with the pain leading up to death, but I know that the pain does not have the last word. And I have suffered enough so far that I know I can endure because God gives me the strength that I need.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
Leave a comment