Growing Old; Growing Up
Read: Psalm 71:14-24

When I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation. --Psalm 71:18

Old age is the season when we can give ourselves to "soul-making," as the Quakers say. We can concentrate on getting to know God better and cultivating character traits that make us more like Him. Age breaks down our strength and energy and strips us of our busyness. It's God's way of getting us to slow down so we'll take more time for Him. We can think more deeply about life, about ourselves, and about others.
Change is an inevitable part of life. We're being shaped every minute we live. Every thought, every decision, every action, every emotion, every response is shaping us into one kind of person or another. Either we're moving toward likeness to Christ or away from Him into some sort of caricature of the person God intended us to be.
It's true, we lose some things as we age: physical strength, quickness, agility. But think of the calm God gives us, the peace He leaves us, the benefits of His salvation, and His faithfulness to us (Psalm 71:15).
Old age is the best time to grow in grace and godliness, in inner strength and beauty of character. "The silver-haired head," the wise man said, "is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness" (Proverbs 16:31). --David Roper

When wrinkles and weakness come with age
And life with its stress takes a toll,
Yet beauty and vigor can still be seen
When Jesus gives peace to one's soul. --D. De Haan

"Grow up" is what the young are told--"age gracefully" when growing old.

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