“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I didn’t know aging was going to be like this. As a kid, even into my 20s and 30s, I saw old people almost as a separate species. They struggled with things I would never struggle with. They complained about things I would never need to deal with. They were old.

I remember the exact day I felt the first twinklings of age and degeneration. I was 22 years old. I spent the late afternoon playing frisbee with reckless abandon on a golf course. I ran fast, jumped high, and dove after the frisbee freely without a thought toward injury. What joy! But the next day I was sore. Very sore. So sore I could hardly move.

I was so perplexed.

I had experienced muscle soreness before but only after rigorous training as part of a sports a team. This time I was more sore than I’d ever been, and I had simply been playing. Just running and jumping and diving onto the manicured grass.

I realized then that I had crossed some threshold from the invincibility of youth into the nonstop, gradual decline of age.

But I still had no idea.

Now, well into my 50s I probably still don’t have a clue what it’s like to be 70 or 80. But I know that it’s not going to get any better. I’m not going to ever be younger than I am right now. I won’t be able to get much stronger no matter how hard I try. I won’t get more energy. My skin will just continue to sag and shrivel. My body is very slowly decaying. As today’s verse says, my outer person is being destroyed.

Cheery.

This is the result of our rebellion against God and the way of this fallen world. Everything decays and everyone eventually dies.

Thankfully the verse doesn’t stop there. It says I don’t have to give up because my inner person is being renewed day by day. My soul can be as vigorous as ever. I can have the invincibility of youth, in spirit, through the power and grace of God.

Because Jesus conquered death for me, I don’t have to worry about death at all. It will come, but that’s not the end. It’s no fun to age. But if I focus on the state of my spirit rather than the state of my body, I can be full of hope for the future instead of despair.

Dear God,

Thank you for the hope you gave me when Jesus conquered death. I’m so glad I do not have to fear my end. Remind me not to fret about what is happening to my body. Show me what is important. Teach me to look for and rely on your daily renewal of my inner person so that I can inspire hope in others no matter my age.