By JUDD MATSUNAGA, ESQ.
Although we may know the Christmas story, i.e., Mary and Joseph giving birth to a baby in a manger, most of us do not truly grasp the importance of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is slowly fading away.
The gift of eternal life through the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, is the greatest gift that man could ever receive. Unfortunately, most people today have become too distracted with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to truly celebrate God’s greatest gift to mankind.
What’s more, the devil has convinced Westernized society that he doesn’t exist. Don’t be fooled. The Bible says that “The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10) Satan seeks to take away your peace, your joy, your purpose, and your spiritual vitality.
In contrast, the birth of Jesus Christ provides life in its fullness. This good vs. evil concept is a core theme in Christian teaching about spiritual warfare, highlighting the ongoing battle between God and the devil for people’s lives and faith.
As a footnote, with today’s Star Wars mentality, e.g., a light force and a dark force, even church-going believers think of God and the devil as two equally opposing forces. Not true at all! The truth is, there’s God the creator, and there’s the devil, a created being.
It’s not “good vs. evil.” It’s not “light force vs. dark force.” It’s God the creator vs. the devil, a created being. That’s why the Bible says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.” (James 2:19)
If you’re over 75, still breathing, still moving, still opening your eyes each morning, it’s not because you’ve got great genes or strong muscles. You are not still here by coincidence, it’s not random. It’s not because the world needs another silver-haired senior citizen in the crowd. You are here by divine design.
Every breath you take is evidence that God hasn’t finished the masterpiece of your life. He’s still writing chapters. He’s still weaving the story. He’s still working wonders through you.
When you were younger, it was your strength that carried you. Back then, the crowds applauded. People called on you and your presence was in demand. And now, the calls have stopped. But your value never came from who called your phone. Instead, your value always come from the One who called your name.
God uses people just like you. You are not forgotten leftovers. You are not expired. You are not sidelined. You are on the front lines of faith.
If you’re still breathing past 75, it’s because there’s a fire in your bones that refuses to die. God hasn’t kept you breathing just to sit back and watch chaos unfold. He didn’t keep breath in your lungs so you could drift into routine or live in regret. God didn’t bring you this far to sit silently in the background.
No, He’s preserved you because there’s still a holy fire in your bones that the someone needs to hear. He’s kept you alive to step into the life (or lives) of the wounded, the lost, the addicted, and the abandoned.
You are the light at the end of someone else’s tunnel. You are the voice shouting truth in their wilderness. You are the hand God longs to extend to the one who’s going under. There are lives hanging in the balance that only your testimony can reach. You are a lighthouse in the middle of life’s storms. You are a living answer to someone’s desperate prayer.
You are not God’s backup plan. You’re part of his front-line movement. Your age is not a weakness. It’s a weapon. He’s kept you alive to carry living water, to carry holy fire, to carry his word.
You’re not just a grandparent. You’re a general in the army of the Lord. Not just a senior, but a seasoned and sanctified soldier. You are a warrior still on active duty. Heaven doesn’t retire saints. It sends them back into battle.
Your prayers are like arrows. Your wisdom is your shield. Your story is a sword. And when you pray, demons retreat. When you enter a room, the atmosphere shifts. Not because of who you are, but because of who walks beside you. So do not fall for the lie that says you’re too old to matter.
God’s timeline doesn’t run on human calendars. Abraham was 75 when God gave him purpose. Moses was 80 when he led a nation to freedom. Caleb was 85 when he claimed the land promised to him. Anna the prophetess was well into her 80s. Yet she was the first to lay eyes on the Messiah in the temple.
Don’t think that God is finished with you. God often reserves his greatest glory for the final chapter. You may have started as a seed, grown into a strong branch, but now you’re bearing fruit, mature, rich, lasting, and full of wisdom.
You are a walking testimony. Your very life is evidence of God’s unfailing goodness. When you enter a room, your scars preach louder than a thousand sermons. Your calm strength proclaims truth louder than the most eloquent speech. You’ve stood firm through battles that would have destroyed someone else. You’ve endured griefs that would have crushed a weaker heart. And yet here you are, eyes still fixed on Him. That’s not fragility. That’s warrior strength.
The enemy has tried to make you believed that your greatest days are behind you. The world has been trying to convince you that your advanced age means disqualification. That your time is up. You may feel irrelevant and unseen.
Don’t believe the enemy’s lies. He’s terrified of you. He’s tried to muffle your voice. But listen closely — when a surrendered saint over 75 says, “Here I am, Lord, send me,” the earth trembles because God has found a vessel that won’t crumble under pressure. He has a soul that’s been refined in fire and proven faithful.
You weren’t rescued to relax at the finish line. You were saved to fight with passion until your final breath. You are the living testimony they’ve been waiting for. You are the bridge that connects generations. You’re the guardian of sacred fire, a living altar where God’s flame still burns bright. You don’t need a stage to preach. Your life is the sermon. Your scars preach. Your joy preaches. Your patience preaches.
Every line on your face tells the story of God’s faithfulness. There’s something within you that the enemy could not destroy. There’s something sacred God buried deep in your spirit that even the years couldn’t erase.
Your assignment is not over. You’re still here because there is meaning in your pain, power in your presence, and purpose in your every step. You weren’t preserved just to pass the time. You were preserved because you carry divine wisdom, because you hold his testimony, and because the fire of God still burns within you. You didn’t survive all this just to get by. You were kept alive for impact.
You’ve endured trials others wouldn’t have made it through. You’ve laid loved ones to rest. You’ve seen financial ruin. You’ve had your heart broken, your dreams shattered. You’ve walked hospital hallways not knowing what tomorrow held. Not merely aging, but rising in spiritual authority. Because the longer you’ve walked with God, the more His oil flows from your life — not less, but more.
And with that sacred oil comes power. Power to bring healing with a single word. Power to bring restoration through a quiet prayer, power to shift atmospheres just by your presence.
Now, you’ve reached an age where your voice carries a weight this world can’t ignore. Not the weight of mere opinions, but the weight of tested wisdom. Not the volume of noise, but the weight of knowing. So don’t hold back. Don’t silence your voice because of guilt or insecurity. That’s not humility. That’s fear. And fear is not your inheritance.
The righteous are bold like lions. And when a lion of God roars in their later years, the sound doesn’t just fill the room. It reverberates across generations. It shakes nations.
Some of you are the spark that will ignite your family’s revival. Your prayers have been a hedge around your children. Your tears have softened hardened soil that once looked bad. You’ve prayed through long nights when no one else was watching. You’ve spoken blessing over your grandchildren, even when all they saw was chaos. And the harvest is on its way.
You’re still here because God isn’t done showcasing His glory through your life. While others bury dreams, God is resurrecting yours. While others close the book, God is beginning a new chapter.
And when you open your mouth, darkness listens. When you pray, angels move into position. When you worship, the very atmosphere shifts, not because of emotion, but because your praise is born from fire tested faith. Your voice has been shaped by hardship, softened by mercy, and strengthened by obedience. And that right there is a threat to hell itself.
It’s not the loudest that rattle the gates of hell. The ones who have learned to cry in the presence of the Lord. The ones who can declare, “Even if he slays me, I will still trust him.”
And someone out there needs your story. Someone who’s on the verge of quitting needs to see that you didn’t. Someone who’s been told they’re too old needs to witness you standing strong. There’s a young heart out there that doesn’t yet understand what it means to pray until something breaks. And they need a guide. Not a sermon, not a syllabus, but a light.
They need to see it in your walk, hear it in your voice, and feel it in the fire that still burns behind your eyes. Your survival is the spark that will ignite someone else’s breakthrough.
So don’t sit in silence. Don’t retreat into the background. Now is the moment to rise, not with pride, but with purpose. You’ve witnessed too much of God’s faithfulness to stay quiet now. There’s a depth of strength that only years can instill. You’ve tasted too much of His mercy to fade away. Speak up. Pray with more fire. Love more fiercely.
Take someone under your wing. Tell your story. There are souls yearning for something real. And you carry the living water they desperately need.
Finally, borrowing a deductive reasoning technique used by the infamous Detective Charlie Chan — “The reason you are still breathing after 75 is either: (1) Because God still has some important assignment for you to do; or (2) Because you still have not made your peace with God.” Most of this Christmas article (above) has been about the first option, i.e., God still has a mission for you to do.
I’d like to conclude this Christmas article elaborating on the second option. “Making peace” with God means acknowledging you’re a sinner and asking Him for forgiveness. The Bible says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
If you’re still breathing after 75, chances are somebody prayed for you. They must have asked God to bless you. It could have been decades ago, it could have been yesterday. Possibly a parent, a grandparent or even a great-grandparent you never even knew. God dispatched angels who brought you the gift of eternal life nicely packaged with a big, red bow.
However, you never opened it. It’s got your name on it. Now is the time. This Christmas, accept the Baby Jesus into your life and open the gift of eternal life. Merry Christmas!!!
Judd Matsunaga, Esq., is the founding partner of the Law Offices of Matsunaga & Associates, specializing in estate/Medi-Cal planning, probate, personal injury and real estate law. With offices in Torrance, Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena and Fountain Valley, he can be reached at (800) 411-0546. Opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.