Age Changes Everything…Except - Martin Wiles

Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 NLT

“Look who I ran into.”

The text came from my longest-standing friend of forty years. He and I had worked at a local manufacturing plant just after graduating from high school. The company’s business had gone south several years later, and they laid me off. He, however, continues to work for them forty years later.

Currently, my friend is stationed in Ohio, but the company generously flies him home two weekends each month so he can see his family. On one such trip, he ran into another friend we had worked with forty years before.

“Whom is this? I texted back.

I barely recognized my friend. He had changed a lot over the years also. Though we have remained in contact, we haven’t sent pictures of each other. But this other person? I couldn’t tell who he was. When my friend gave his name, I recognized him. His eyes remained the same, although age lines, weight change, and a bald head had changed him otherwise.

Age has a way of doing this. Ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and sinned against God in doing so, age has changed the human body. I can eat healthily and exercise, but my body will age. I can use creams and have surgeries, but the birthdays will still come around annually.

What I can do is age gracefully by not letting age change the most important things. Paul knew his body was dying—and Emperor Nero would soon do away with it altogether. But inwardly, Paul renewed his spirit daily. That part was spiritual, and age—nor a wicked emperor—could stop the process.

Wise King Solomon said people’s chief purpose was to fear God and obey His commands. If we do those two things, we will age gracefully. Aging will change the way we look and affect us in other ways, but it cannot steal our love for God or our ability to obey Him.

Regardless of how old you get, make up your mind to make God the heaviest weight in your life. Others may not recognize you outwardly, but they’ll know who you are inwardly by your character.

Prayer: Father, may we age gracefully as we grow spiritually in You.

Tweetable: What about aging don't you enjoy? 

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