You have
probably heard the warning about aging. You start dying the day you are born.
It is only a matter of how and when. There is more truth here than we would
like to think.
Biologists tell
us that we are losing body cells every day. For many years the addition of
cells is greater than the loss of cells, hence we grow (in multiple
directions!). Then there comes the time in our lives when the reverse happens.
The number of cells dying outnumbers those that are created. It can be a slow
process. We don’t necessarily shrink in size, but certain organs cannot repair
themselves as they did before and they function on a weaker level.
How
depressing! It is depressing if we think of living as preserving what we had at
a specific age. Pick your age of choice. Perhaps it would be the freedom you
felt as you entered your late teens. Maybe it is the sense of power and control
as those first significant paychecks came in and you felt an independence you
had never felt before. Perhaps you would pick the age in which you established
those intimate relationships you had sought for so many years. Whatever the age
might be, it offered something you had never before experienced and you look
back now and wish you could have held on to it.
We start
dying the day we are born. What we do with the days we have until death comes
is up to us. Our lives are made up of the choices we make. Rarely will we ever
face a situation in which we only have one choice. There will almost always be
the preferred option, but others will exist.
Growing
older is like that. We don’t have to be old. We can just be older. It is a
choice. It is a mindset. It is a way of facing life.
Jesus
confronted the Apostle Peter in the days before his ascension about Peter’s attitude
and choices. What was important was the present moment.
Joh
21:18 I am telling you the truth: when you were young, you used to get ready
and go anywhere you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your
hands and someone else will tie you up and take you where you don't want to
go." (In saying this, Jesus was indicating the way in which Peter would
die and bring glory to God.) Then Jesus said to him, "Follow me!"
Events
would take place in the future over which Peter would have no control. Those events,
however, should have no affect on Peter’s loyalty and faithfulness. Peter was
to see each moment as an opportunity to follow Jesus faithfully.
When
individuals get old, the tendency is to focus upon “what used to be”, the good
old days. The priority is upon what was lost rather than the choices that still
exist. Old is when regrets outnumber dreams. Old is when the “if only’s” fill
our thoughts more than the “what if’s”. Old is when we grieve over what we once
could do and ignore the joy we can experience in what we still can do.
Peter
would be able to follow Jesus throughout his life. He would have to change what
he did, but he would still be expressing his faithfulness and loyalty. Peter
would get older, but he could choose not to be old.
This
week contains two relevant events. On Monday evening I shared in a senior adult
banquet with nearly 250 other individuals. We celebrated our ages and applauded
the eldest among us. She was 93. We listened to a guest speaker who was more
than a few years younger than we. He told us we have a legacy to leave for
those who follow us, and we need to be working on that legacy until we
surrender our last breath.
The second
event is I turn 65, a senior adult in anyone’s eyes. I fully intend to get older,
not old. Faithfulness to my Lord and Savior says I still have a choice.
