Perth pastor Simon van Bruchem has written a very thoughtful book on life after we hang up the work boots, calling it Distinctively Christian Retirement.

Because he is a pastor, van Bruchem regularly sees how people think about their future and how they may plan for it in all the best and worst ways. He’s written this helpful book because every Christian of every age should be thinking of the way they can serve Jesus Christ right to the end. Of course we should! And it is a tonic for all ages, with plenty of insights along the way.

The author discusses the way “retirement” entered our global thinking and how the Bible revolutionises age issues; he presents some fresh challenges that older people face (in mind and body) and great ways to be more useful than you thought possible. 

This is a careful look at the issues through the biblical lens. As a semi-retired guy, I found it heartening and quickening.

Did you know, for example, that former German chancellor, Otto Von Bismarck, introduced the first pensions for retirees and that a “bucket list” is a 21st-century invention? Did you realise that photo albums are as selective as our memories? How many photos of sadness and struggle do we take? No wonder we look back with rosy spectacles!

Van Bruchem challenges our foolishness in places – for example, will we really be remembered in one hundred years’ time? And will we know or care? So why seek to be famous or try to leave an empty legacy? 

He also comforts our fears, pointing out how powerful our witness can be in normal contacts, and how impactful – despite our sufferings – and reminds us that we are stewards and not owners, so let us use what we have with eternity in view.

This is a good book to teach the wonder of Jesus and salvation, to inspire a long and keen race for Jesus and to establish the real retirement that believers will have with Jesus.

Distinctively Christian Retirement is available through Koorong, Amazon, Booktopia and other outlets, in print or as an audio/ebook.