Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return after the rain. – Ecclesiastes 12:2

Today's Scripture Reading (February 7, 2026): Ecclesiastes 12

Ronald Reagan, as President, defended his advancing age by quoting Thomas Jefferson. "Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." I hesitate to try to explain someone else's joke, but in case you missed it, Reagan was making an age joke. It is something Ronald Reagan had a particular talent for. He could often make a joke about himself and, in the process, disarm a criticism aimed at him. In this case, his critics were bothered by the President's age. Maybe we have gotten used to older Presidents, but during Reagan's term, there were many comments about his age and fitness for office. Reagan's response is summed up in the Jefferson quote. First, judge me by what I do, not by some arbitrary number on my driver's license. Reagan's sense of humor is evident in the second part of the quote; there, he admits he is old. In fact, he exaggerates it. Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, almost a century before Reagan was born. So, if Jefferson and Reagan had a conversation, Reagan was a lot older than we thought.

It is the one reality we all have to face. That number that climbs at a predictable pace every moment of every year. There was a time when we wanted to look older; we took pride in passing for someone older than we were. But that moment quickly passes, and we dream, and buy creams and hair dyes, to make us look younger than we are. I recently watched a news opinion show and noticed that a network executive who had started joining the onscreen panel about a year ago had dyed his hair. It was like the salt-and-pepper hair had been appropriate when he was an off-screen personality, but if he was going to be on TV regularly, maybe his look needed updating. And don't ever ask someone to guess how old you are, because if the person is honest, we might get the shock of our lives. (Personally, I have decided that no one looks older than forty.)

The Preacher appears to use poetic language in this portion of his sermon. "Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds return" is his way of saying before we suffer from the effects of advancing age. Because we all will suffer from age-related ailments, the body will grow weak (the keepers of the house tremble), our legs and knees will begin to hurt and fail (the strong men stoop), and even our teeth will start to leave us (the grinders cease because they are few). We will grow old, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. But we still need to make the most of every moment we are given, until that moment when God brings us home.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 12