AGE - Advantage or Disadvantage?

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, 

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing,
To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."

(Psalms 92:12-15, NKJV)

There are certain truths that are not so palatable. The flesh finds them difficult to come to terms with. One of those truths is the reality of ageing. Ageing is the process of getting older, one that all of us, fortunately or unfortunately, are affected by. Many individuals simply cannot bear the thought of getting old, hence the obsession with plastic surgery. It's rather unfortunate that those who indulge in this superficial activity seem to forget that external modifications do not penetrate the soul or spirit. 

In the case of plastic surgery, the skin may be stretched, some fat removed from the body, shapes of certain parts of the body may be modified even to the extent of reducing their sizes or enlarging them with artificial material. All the body modifications, denials or deceptions cannot eradicate the fact that everybody is growing old by the minute. In Job 32:7-9, we read

"I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice." (NKJV)

The implication here is that as people get older they should grow in wisdom and therefore have good advice for the younger ones. However, that is not always the case - great men are not always wise, neither do the aged always understand justice. Quite remarkable, right? We are encouraged though, in Psalms 92 that those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in His courts and bear fruit in their old age. This makes me want to jump up and shout 'Hallelujah'. It seems to me that we can still be useful and fruitful until our dying day. This is very encouraging. Another way to look at it is to consider the fact that there are things one can do only at the age of say 50, which are impossible to do at the age of 20. Of course, this varies from individual to individual but it is a fundamental truth. Why? Well let's take a look at Ecclesiastes 3

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4), NKJV)

There is a time for everything and we move through times here on earth. For example , we are in the year 2020 and the years 2019 and earlier are gone forever. The point is that in God's perfect plan, there were things that had to be accomplished in those years. 2020 would have been too late for them. Similarly our advancement in age, while causing us to experience the frailty of our physical bodies, is absolutely necessary for the accomplishment of God's plans and purposes for our lives. We can then say with all amount of assurance that we move from one phase of our lives to the next as we age. We must therefore learn to age gracefully. 

Jesus shows us the way forward. The Bible says

"And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and men." (Luke 2:52, AMP)

Jesus kept on increasing in wisdom and in stature and that is what we should be doing even when our physical bodies become weak. Whether you are 20, 30, 50, 60 or even 90, God is for you and you have a place of functionality in this world that we are living in. Be cheerful for all is well. Yes, we are all ageing but we do not have to despondent, depressed, discontent or discouraged. There is work for you to do in  the Lord. 

On the other hand, if you do not know Jesus, you can receive Him today as your personal Lord and Saviour (John 1:12) and He will make you a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) as you confess your sins, repent of them and ask for forgiveness. Why should you ask for forgiveness? Because we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Jesus died to set you free from sin and the hopelessness that the devil perpetrates in order to keep us bound. Today is the day of salvation. Come to Jesus and purpose will come into your life, ageing will be a welcome development and death will no longer scare you because you will go to a better place called Heaven when your final day on earth arrives. That is possible because Jesus bridged the gap between God the Father and us by His vicarious death on the cross of Calvary. Today you can be free to live a life of fruitfulness as you age gracefully in the Lord.

May the good Lord comfort, strengthen and challenge you with these words. Have a blessed day.