Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ESVUK

A good friend of mine, when he was in his 50’s, often said to me, with a smile, ‘Don’t get old Stephen.’ The truth is, of course, that we will inevitably ‘get old’ if God graciously allows us to live long enough. But in spite of every indication of wear and tear, these can be years of great spiritual growth and fruitfulness.

As the years go by, we are increasingly aware of the factuality of the first part of this sentence. Some may get there sooner than others, but eventually we recognise that our bodily powers are waning, to some degree or other. We can’t evade the evidence. We look in the mirror and wonder how we got to be so old! (Perhaps, indeed, when it was we turned into our mother or father!!). The passage of time can take an increasingly debilitating toll. Life may become more painful and movement more difficult. We start to hurt in places we didn’t know we had places. We may be able to joke about some of the aches and pains, the embarrassments, indignities and inconveniences of old age. But it isn’t really funny. Someone quipped that ‘growing old is not for the faint-hearted.’

But at the same time, Paul holds out this delightful prospect of inward renewal. Perhaps we could express this as growing older outwardly, and yet younger inwardly. The experience of inner renewal can eclipse the harsh realities of outer decay.

Literally, Paul writes about our ”inner man”. It may not be possible to define exactly what this means, but I’m drawn to Alfred Plummer’s suggestion that it refers to ‘the highest part of our immaterial being, which is capable of being the home of the Holy Spirit and of being ruled by Him.’

”This daily renewal is the vast compensation which only a Christian can experience. As his earthly faculties fade the things of the Spirit become more real to him. Denny well comments: ‘The decay of the outward man in the godless is a mechanical spectacle, for it is the decay of everything; in the Christian it does not touch the life which is hid with Christ in God, and which is in the soul itself a well of water springing up to eternal life.’ ”

I read how the great Bible teacher and writer, Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter, when he was around 90 years old,was asked by a visiting friend, how can I pray for you? He thought for a moment, then replied, ‘Pray that I would be more holy.’

Our later years can be very fruitful. We may find that Jesus saves ”the best” till last (John 2:10).

”The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.

They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

PRAYER: Lord, in old age please will you grant us deeper rootedness in you, and greater fruitfulness for you.