Another Paradox—Growing Younger!

“Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16

We have turned the calendar’s page to 2009. Does that make you feel older? Certainly it marks a passage of time, and for those of you experiencing deployment that comes as good news or bad news. If you’re getting ready to come home, you probably want those days to pass quickly. If you’re waiting to deploy, you might want time to move slowly. But whether it moves slowly or quickly time is taking its toll on all of us and we’re growing older. That’s the truth of it. 

When my husband would come home from work during periods of time when an assignment was not going particularly well, I would ask him, “How was work today?” He would answer, “One more day off the tour!” Life is like that—each day is “one day off the tour” for our time here on earth. Because of its uncertainties we can read Proverbs 27:1 and say a rousing “Amen!”  “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” 

I guess that’s why I have been intrigued by Paul’s thinking expressed in 2 Corinthians 4:16:  “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”  Being renewed even though my body is “wasting away” (more and more, it seems)??  That’s counter-intuitive! The paradoxes of the Christian faith (see Sept 1^st Excellent or Praiseworthy’s “The Paradox of Drawing Together While Apart“) have long fascinated me, and here is yet another one—as Christians we can actually grow younger as we are growing older! That’s good news as I get out my new calendar for 2009 and put away 2008. 

Did you know that the “secret” to growing younger over time is being born again? It’s a matter of spiritual growth versus physical growth. As our bodies grow weaker, we can actually grow stronger in our faith if our faith is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus we read: “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’  Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”  John 3:3-6    

I believe that Oswald Chambers, whose teaching was collected into the powerful devotional classic My Utmost for His Highest—and who served the last years of his life as a chaplain to the military in World War I—says it best:  “Spiritually we never grow old; through the passing of things we grow so many years young. The characteristic of the spiritual life is its unaging youth, exactly the opposite of the natural life. ‘I am . . . the First and the Last.’ The Ancient of Days represents the eternal childhood. God Almighty became the weakest thing in His own creation, a baby. When He comes into us in new birth, we can easily kill His life in us, or else we can see to it that His life is nourished according to the dictates of the Spirit of God, so that we grow ‘to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ The mature saint is just like a little child, absolutely simple and joyful and lively. Go on living the life that God would have you live, and you will grow younger instead of older. There is a marvelous rejuvenescence when once you let God have His way. If you are feeling very old, then get born again and begin to grow in His new life.” from Making All Things New

I find the paradox stated in the sentence, “The mature saint is just like a little child, absolutely simple and joyful and lively.” That is what I want to be—trusting the Lord in absolute abandon to myself, and enjoyment and fulfillment in Him.

“But Jesus called the children to Him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16,17) Chambers says of this verse, “Jesus Christ uses the child-spirit as a touchstone for the character of a disciple. He did not put up a child before His disciples as an ideal, but as an expression of the simple-hearted life they would live when they were born again. The life of a little child is expectant, full of wonder, and free from self-consciousness . . . Our Lord is indicating that we have to be carefully careless about everything saving our relationship to Him.” from The Place of Help

This is not some haphazard order, but the proclamation of the innocence as of a child—the simple faith and trust that a little one has in their loving parent—that is of infinite value to God. As we approach 2009, may we see in it the possibilities of clinging to Jesus for every provision and trusting Him with each and every care. If we can do that, we will mature and become more and more as a child as we grow older in days. If we can do that, we will fling ourselves into His arms in full reliance on His character, and proclaim the prayer of the Puritans (who had an understanding of the paradox of the Christian faith) for the New Year:

“O LORD,

“Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.

“Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from thee, but may rely on thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step, prosper every work, build up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth thy praise, testify thy love, advance thy kingdom.

“I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, with thee, O Father, as my harbour; thee, O Son, at my helm; thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

“Guide me to heaven with my loins girt, my lamp burning, my ear open to thy calls, my heart full of love, my soul free.

“Give me thy grace to sanctify me, thy comforts to cheer, thy wisdom to teach, thy right hand to guide, thy counsel to instruct, thy law to judge, thy presence to stabilize.

“May thy fear be my awe, thy triumphs my joy.”  The Valley of Vision “New Year”

May you have a Blessed New Year!

Arthur Bennett, editor, The Valley of Vision (Carlisle: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 112.

Daniel Partner, editor, Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost Devotional Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), pages 488 and 92.

Questions to Share:

1. What are the challenges you are facing in your life and in your marriage in 2009? Make a list of at least three concerns.

2. Ask your spouse what their concerns are for 2009. Pray individually and together, trusting God to do what He promises in Proverbs 3:5,6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”