Do you ever feel like growing older isn't really fair? As I sat in Bible study at church yesterday, these and other thoughts were interrupting my listening to the pastor. At that point in the lesson, we were discussing these verses:
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And
we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us
as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be
released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the
day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.
Romans 8:22-23 NLT
That part, "we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering," is about being in pain, being sick, growing old, and the pastor was making the point that when we are suffering like that, maybe with something like cancer or constant pain, that we might be tempted to say, "I thought you loved me, God. I've served you my whole life. Why are you doing this to me?"
And, in my head, I was off, thinking about things God has already taught me. Well -- is teaching me. Will continue to be teaching me.
Not that long ago, I was feeling pretty blue. My grown children were having adventures, and I was kind of jealous. (still am, in all honesty) Their whole lives were still ahead of them, and mine was mostly past. At that moment, getting old didn't seem fair. So, why is that the way it is?
And, of course, God reminded me that He didn't create us to die. We humans did that to ourselves.
Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Genesis 2:17
And that is why Jesus had to come to earth - to live and die in our place, so that we could be forgiven for that original sin and all the ones each one of us commit. And one day, He will undo all the damage we're wrought on this earth and will make it perfect again.
Which brings us back to the verse from Bible study - longing for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. And that's how God uses our dying bodies for good - to long for the day when we will be released. When all creation will be released. If all was perfect, if we were always young and strong, what reason would we have to long for something better? What reason would we have to feel the need to get right with God?
So, I have accepted that in this fallen world, with these fallen bodies, that getting old is literally part of God's plan for us. From His perspective, this little time on earth is the merest blip, not even the blink of an eye, compared for what He has in mind for us. In light of eternity, our time of feeling old and useless is nothing. For the day will come - maybe soon - when corruption puts on incorruption.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
1 Corinthians 15:42-43
Photo credit: https://christskingdom.org/articles/heaven-jesus-believers-new-glorified-body/
So, knowing what awaits, we can (should, at least), be patient with these failing bodies. So, that is not my issue. I accept that that is the way it is, so that is not what my mind was occupied with yesterday. No, I was thinking more of the useless part. We were in Romans, and 15 years ago, I had written an overview of the whole Bible, with a little bit on each book, and I had a couple of sentences on Romans. 15 years ago, Romans was so familiar to me that I could summarize it for my Bible study ladies without a lot of effort. Yesterday, I literally couldn't remember what I had said about Romans.
Yeah, so? Many of my friends, when I make some kind of comment like that will respond that they have trouble remembering why they came into a room, let alone something they wrote 15 years ago. The point is not that I couldn't remember what I had said. The point is that yesterday, given the same opportunity to summarize Romans in a couple of sentences, I couldn't do it.
I sat there, with the Pastor's voice an unheard buzz in the background, while I tried to summarize Romans in my head. I couldn't do it. That book used to be so familiar to me, and now, I can barely remember what is in Romans and what isn't. How am I supposed to be useful to God like this?
And, I remind myself, yet again, that God created me for a purpose. I've written about that before: Work that only you can do and I'll surely write on it again. I can't be alone. There must be other believers out there who used to feel more useful than they currently do. But, as I continually tell myself, God knew I would get to this point, and He still has a purpose for me in being here, or He would have found a way to call me home. Since He has not, there is still work for me to do. No, it obviously is not the same work as before, but it is still important, and He still means for me to do it.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
NOTE: None of this is about working to earn my right to heaven. In that regard, our only work is to believe that Jesus has already done it all for us, and even that, the Holy Spirit works in us to believe that.
I don't like getting old, and I am still jealous of my daughters, with their lives ahead of them. But, in light of eternity, all of it, literally ALL of it, is nothing. In light of eternity, it doesn't matter how old you are, whether you lead an adventurous life or go exciting places. All that matters is knowing Jesus and trusting Him as your savior. If you are right with God, you are exactly where you are supposed to be. As Paul says, "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Philippians 3:8)
In light of eternity, this tiny blip of a life is truly nothing.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9
And while here, there is still work for me to do. 😁
