阅读经文 

我开车来到敬老院时，我的朋友已准备好在等待我的到来了。今天是星期二，是我们一起吃早餐的日子。他费力地抬起衰弱的腿上了车、把手杖放在我们的座位中间、然后让我帮他扣上安全带。扣好安全带后，他微声叹气说：“事事都每况愈下了。”

我这位沉静谦虚的朋友曾经历过与现今迥然不同的日子——昔日他是一个强壮而充满活力的青年。在吃早餐时，我们有时也能够哄他讲述他在二次世界大战任飞行员时的故事。他也可能会和大家分享数十年来打高尔夫球的愉快回忆。他已活了健康、活跃、颇有成就的一生。

然而，那为他忠心服务了差不多一个世纪之久的腿和身体，现今已变得不再稳定和可靠了。简单的差事都成为一个挑战，他的叹息是可以理解的：“事事都每况愈下了。”

他发出的微声叹息不是抗议，也不是抱怨；我的朋友只是在陈述一个事实。无数世代的人所经历过的境遇，现在已成为他当下的份了；他愿意接受这个事实——优雅、温顺地接受，又藉着信靠得到满足。我的朋友已学会了使徒保罗的秘诀——就是随事随在都知足。

事事都每况愈下。然而，神的恩典能够奇妙地扭转这个局面，叫我们因此结出圣灵的果子：忍耐、良善、温柔、信实。

As I drove up to the assisted living facility, my friend was ready and waiting. It was Tues­day, our breakfast day. With some effort he pulled his aged legs into the car, placed the cane between us, and let me fasten his seat belt. Then, buckled in, he sighed quietly, "Nothing gets easier."

My quiet, unassuming friend re­membered other days—back when he was a strong, vibrant young man. At our breakfasts we could sometimes coax stories out of him about being a pilot in World War II. Or he might share with us some memories he enjoyed from ­decades of playing golf. He had lived a healthy, active, productive life.

But now his legs and the body that had served him well for nearly a century had become unsteady and unreliable. Sim­ple tasks had become challenging. The sigh that came was understandable: "Nothing gets easier."

His gentle sigh wasn't a protest; it wasn't a grumbling complaint. My friend was simply stating a fact. What countless generations have experienced was now his lot; he accepted it—with grace and gentleness and a trusting contentment. My friend had learned what the apostle Paul learned—to be content in every situation.

Nothing gets easier. But by an interesting twist of God's grace, we can grow spiritual fruit: patience, kindness, gentleness, contentment.