Do I think I’m immortal?

Tags

50-year old women, aging, dogs, dress like daughters, dying, earth, gray hair, growing old, heaven, living, old age, ponytails, pressing forward

Why do gray-haired men wear pony-tails? Why do 50-year old women dress like their daughters?

We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die. But me? God snatches me from the clutch of death, he reaches down and grabs me. We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die. (Psalm 49:12, 15, 20 MSG)

I’ve watched our loved family dog, Putter, grow up with our kids and then as they went off to college he slowed and weakened. The lively lab who couldn’t contain himself whenever we came home each day was now curling up on the floor, unable to bring himself to his feet quickly if at all. He aged, weakened, and died. And so shall I.

Our world is bent and spent on youth and trying to look and feel young. It may be that 60 is the new 40, but truth be told 60 is still plenty old. Trying or pretending to be young works under the mistaken principle that I can somehow be immortal. I can cheat aging and death. Thinking like this is ultimately futile, frustrating and unfulfilling. Just like my dog I will age, weaken, and die.

How should I live? I can truly live when I am ready to die. That readiness allows me to look forward not backward. Those chasing their youth are always looking in the past. The only way I can time-travel is to the future. Wishing I could go back to a former time, body, face, or place leaves me dwelling where I cannot stay. No progress is made looking in the rear mirror–that’s only good for going in reverse.

A reason so many are stuck in reverse is they lack the full hope that God will snatch them from the clutch of death. That’s why we see gray-haired men with long hair and pony-tails and 50-year old women trying to dress like their daughters. They spend their lives unwilling to face the future and the fact we are all headed in the same direction, the logistics of our trips the only difference.

Since I accept God’s offer of grace through the sacrifice of Jesus to cover my sinful life, I comfortably rest in his mercy that this life on earth is not all there is. It’s not even close to the best part of what there is. The reason it’s called Heaven is that’s where God is, no evil exists, and where all things are perfect. Earth, in case you haven’t noticed, includes plenty of evil and things will never be perfect.

So, today, I look forward to the future, forgetting the past and pressing forward (Phil 3:13). I’m off and running, glad for every step that takes me closer to the best place I can be. A place where appearances and physical frailties matter not, because God has snatched me from the clutch of death.