The Essence Of Aging

You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.

Job 5:26

Ben Patterson says old age has a way of whittling a person down to his or her bare essence—what is left of us is what we were all along. He cites his wife’s grandmother, who, in her eighties, couldn’t remember family names, but her prayers were heaven on earth. A distant uncle, on the other hand, spent his life making money and was obsessed with it at the end of his life.

When mind and muscle leave us, what remains is who we really are. Some of us, like Moses, will minister right up to the end (Deuteronomy 34:7). But for most of us, aging will take its toll. If Patterson is right . . . what will stand out in your life?

Abraham and Sarah were just getting started when they hit the century mark. They had their first child together and set out to build a nation that would cover the earth like the sand on the seashore. That’s called walking by faith, and the older we get, the more it ought to characterize our life.

If today was your last day on earth and the essence of your life was revealed, what would it be? Start building a life of faith so that when all else passes away, your legacy of faith will remain.

For the Christian, growing old gracefully means growing old, full of grace.