(1 Cor 13:11) When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Isn’t’ it funny how when you’re young you want to be older and when you are old you want to be younger? What’s up with that? You ask a young child how old they are, and they say their next age almost a year from now. And an older person will leave out their birth year on their profile. And then think about all those products that take away the gray and the wrinkles. And how about the plastic surgery advertisements that we ponder about?
I’ve been talking to young people lately graduating from high school and who are entering the college age years. Many of them are afraid of what lies ahead. They want to stay in the free and easy high school days where they were taken care of and their parents did everything for them. Then on down the road when you get married and start having a family you’re still young and can pull off being cool. The young people’s clothing and shoes still look good on you and you feel like you still got it! Then midlife hits and a woman begins to look at herself aging in the mirror of reality. The man’s hair starts turning gray and falling out. Then when you are a senior (and for Denny’s that starts at 55!) you look down and ask whose old person’s hands are those?
The Bible dignifies maturity. Getting older brings a wisdom of years that the young can benefit from. (Pro 20:29) The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of old men is their gray head. As time moves on we are to shed our skin. We are to give up the old and embrace the new. As we lose our Youth we choose the Truth. Life is all about growing up and moving forward. Youth is preparation for the future. We are to embrace the phase we are entering or are already in. Why do we hold on so tenaciously? I believe it’s because we are uncertain about what’s ahead. We hold on to our blanket and pacifier when it’s time to go to school and learn about real life. Because of insecurity we mock maturity and resist what we are being called to.
What about you? Are you fighting the future? Are you trying to hold on to the past? Things can’t always be the same. Perhaps there has been a change in your life lately and it brought about a feeling of unsettledness. That’s probably the Lord calling you on to what lies ahead. Embrace it! Don’t hold on to the past. That’s not a safe place . . . it’s a prison. You’ll be locked up in history and you won’t be free to interface with what the present is offering you.
Dear soul, the path ahead of you leads to eternal life. God loves you and the future is good. We are going to see Jesus face to face. Go forward with confidence. Shed your skin!
Louie (Phil 3:12-14)
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