We are living on the eve of great events that are certain to take place because they were foretold in the Bible. Yet one great event is unfolding before my very eyes, right in my own life. It is the approaching end of my journey in this earthly history. Even if I do not believe it or think about it, I cannot escape it; I too will cross this boundary in my life story. But first I will enter the final stage of my growth in order to experience all the delights of life.
Have you ever become discouraged because you cannot fly? Have you ever been disappointed in life because you cannot live underwater or in permafrost? These are strange questions that bring a sympathetic smile at the person asking them.
There are various physical abilities and characteristics that we accept as facts and inevitabilities, and we live with them without being troubled in the least that they are not meant for us.
But there is one inevitable problem that deprives many people of peace, keeps them in fear, plunges them into discouragement, and brings them no joy at all. It is the approach of old age.
No one knows at what age it begins, but I so wish that it would never come to me. I so want to remain young and energetic, to have a reserve of vitality and health, and to be attractive and smooth-skinned. But time passes and spares no one. We even know approximately how much longer we have to live in this world, yet at times we act as though we will never die.
Every year people are born into this world, and we are surrounded by others from different age groups. Together with everyone else, we move from year to year, crossing every age threshold and approaching the destination called the grave. Some meet it early and unexpectedly; others wait for it and long to descend into it as soon as possible but cannot. And the whole meaning of life is reduced to the fact that we are born in order to die. It is the existence of death that deprives our entire life and everything we accomplish here of meaning if everything ends there.
But God gives us hope that death is only a sleep and a transitional stage leading to something new and wonderful. If I believe in Him—in Jesus, my Savior from sin—and live in obedience to His will and law, then Eternal life is given to me already on this Earth and in God’s Kingdom.
My age is a series of stages in life through which I pass regardless of my desire to stop or accelerate them. Each stage of my life opens new opportunities and prospects to me, teaches me something, and permanently takes away what has remained in the past.
The important question is not how long I will live, but how I will live. With what will I fill my mind? Why do I need all of this?
When God originally gave us life, He did not plan to shorten or end it. But sin entered the world, and death came with it. In His mercy, God shortened our span of life in this bustling world because He desires to give us something better and Eternal. Only with Him and in Him does life acquire meaning and significance. And to make this span of time beautiful, God gives us various talents with which to serve one another, so that we may adorn our lives with happiness, love, and friendship and make our everyday lives beautiful and joyful.
Each new age opens new prospects for my development and for learning the mysteries of existence. For example, we see that a nursery, kindergarten, school, vocational school, and university are transitional forms of life that develop the personality, impart knowledge, educate a person, and prepare one for something better. The wisdom of life is not something accidental but something assembled piece by piece throughout one’s entire lifetime. Over the years, you begin to understand what is best to do and how to do it, as well as what should not be done. At twenty comes the realization that you are independent; at thirty, that you are already an adult; at forty, that you have already lived quite a while; at fifty, that life goes on; and what comes at sixty, I do not yet know, but I will tell you later.
I used to hear about a midlife crisis and kept waiting for mine to begin, but it never came. Apparently, love distracted me from those expectations and silenced all my anxieties.
Love is the miracle of life and the best thing with which to fill it. It gives meaning to everything at any age. It makes all my deeds beautiful and meaningful not only to me but also to those around me. It carries within itself seeds of joy, peace, and happiness and scatters them wherever it can.
When you love, the problems of aging recede into the background, and the only goal that remains is to become like Jesus in your love for people and to reveal God’s character to others through your life. My years only add practical experience so that, possessing it, I do not repeat past mistakes.
Albert Einstein once said, ‘We are all geniuses. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’
And I notice that at times I think of myself in exactly this way when I begin comparing myself with those who are unlike me and who have achieved something I was unable to achieve. I write myself out of history, giving way to the young and promising—not because I want to, but because this world has conditioned me to do so. I stop striving for anything or learning anything because I have been convinced that I am old and have nothing left to do but die. They have even invented a slogan: ‘Live while you are young!’
And the declaration ‘I am young!’ sometimes sounds so proud, as though it were a lifelong decision. But life runs its course, and time calmly destroys all these ambitions.
Love and friendship are the best alternative to any midlife crisis, any painful perception of approaching old age, and any awareness of the inevitability of death.
Love is Eternity in my heart. Just as Eternal life opens the prospect of Eternal growth, love gives me the prospect of endless development and the joy of unending victories in this earthly life. It leaves behind an indelible mark of its influence. A loving person has no age. He has love, which covers everything. When I meet someone who loves me and I feel that influence upon me, the question of how old that person is concerns me least of all. I enjoy that person’s company and draw from his attitude toward me the very thing my soul longs for most—to be loved and needed by him. It is love that makes every person needed and full of promise. It accepts a person completely and holds him in that acceptance throughout his life, rejoicing that he exists, no matter how old he is.
Love and friendship are the most sought-after currency in relationships. No counterfeit is accepted, and it is recognized very quickly. Only the genuine article has value.
God gave us the laws of health to make our lives happier, to protect us from disease, and to keep our minds from becoming clouded. Love draws us toward this knowledge because it delights in developing and living in a healthy body. It has an immortal motto: ‘It is never too late to begin, and there is always something new to learn.’
Choose to live, my friend! Live with purpose. Live in order to love. Then you will not even notice the worldly monster called old age. There simply will be no time left to pay attention to it. Every age will be beautiful in its own way, and love will become the finest adornment and continuation of your life.
Bible verses for this chapter:
Leviticus 19:32; Job 12:12; Psalm 90:10, 12; Psalm 24:6; 37:25; 71:9, 17–18; 91:16; 92:13–16; Isaiah 46:3–4; Job 42:17; Proverbs 3:1–2, 16; 9:10–11; 19:27; 16:31; 20:29; Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 5:33; 6:2; 1 Timothy 5:1–2