By: Lauren Thomas
My 3-year-old asked me my age today. Thanks to his inability to correctly pronounce “th,”, he added 10 years to my life, putting me closer to 50 than my actual age. I have to laugh. But if I’m being honest with you, I’ve struggled with the idea of aging. You too? Fine lines are already setting in. Age spots are appearing. Grey hairs are playing hide and seek, and I’m finding them, so that means I’m…winning?
Proverbs 16:31 calls grey hair a “crown of glory,” but it sure doesn’t feel that way. Would you agree?
Could it be that’s because we don’t have a Kingdom perspective on aging? Could it be we’ve bought into the lies of culture? Image, beauty, and youth are the cultural values. And in spite of Proverbs 31:30, we have been deceived by charm, and we have trusted in vanity.
I would go so far as to say that for some of us, youth is a cultural idol. It’s so insidious that we miss it for what it is: a major distraction, a major source of discontentment, a deception, and something we worship. For some of us, it is time to tear down this idol.
What does the Bible say about aging? I wish we could do a deep dive in Scripture and look at a Biblical theology of aging, but we don’t have space for that here. Instead, let me point you to what is perhaps the most important passage in the Bible on shaping a Kingdom perspective on aging. And let me tell you, it is powerfully countercultural:
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16, 18 ESV
Living in a fallen world means that our outer self must and will waste away. But because of Jesus, our inner self is a different story! We are being renewed daily. Our inner self is getting more beautiful every day! The inner self matters far more than the outward appearance (see 1 Samuel 16:7). When we look in the mirror and see life taking its toll, we can rejoice because the opposite is happening within. We don’t have to dwell on our disappointment with our bodies or our appearance: we don’t lose heart! How? By not focusing on what we see in the mirror, but by focusing on the eternal.
So, sister, when you’re looking in the mirror and feeling tempted to despair, don’t lose heart! Look to the eternal and get excited about the “internal youthing” (as opposed to external aging) that is taking place within you. AMEN!
Reflection:
I told you I didn’t have space to give you a Biblical theology on aging, but… I did sneak in several verses on this topic. Look up every Bible reference in this post to get started seeing aging from a Kingdom perspective.
Do you struggle with aging? Ask yourself why. Ask it again and again. Tunnel down as far as you can with those whys until you find the root problem. Take it to God and ask for a new perspective.
First, before I forget, thanks for coming over to Marmelade Gypsy. And I'm with you on the hair. I colored for years. Then during Covid I didn't get it cut for about two or three years and by then it was hideous, half gray, half not. A good cut and letting it do it's own thing and I'm better inside and out!
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