Is Age Really Just a Number?

This topic idea has been festering for a while. I say festering because I hate aging. Hate seems like a strong word, but I really struggle with the idea that I am aging and can do nothing to stop it.

The number of days I truly feel young lessens with every passing year. I hear that age is a state of mind, but that just concerns me more since what my mind says about my age and what my body says are very different.

Because of my struggle with aging, the question “How can I live a long life?” comes up from time to time.

How to Live a Long Life

A lot of what I’m reading these days touches on the topic of extending your life and looking and feeling younger. Topics range from exercise and diet to managing stress and staying connected.

The Bible is also a part of my regular reading, and it has a lot to say about living a long life. Not only does it get at the physical side of life, but it also gets at how our character impacts the length of our days. For example, it links each of the following with living a long life.

  1. Fearing God. (Proverbs 10:27)
  2. Getting wisdom. (Proverbs 9:11)
  3. Obeying God. (Deuteronomy 5:33)
  4. Honoring your parents. (Ephesians 6:2-3)
  5. Avoiding wickedness. (Ecclesiastes 7:17 & Psalm 55:23)
  6. Pursuing God. (Psalm 91:9-16)

As I consider this instruction, I am acutely aware that it doesn’t always seem work. I mean, someone can follow this advice and still not live a long life in earthly terms. So, doing what the Bible says we need to do to live a long life does not guarantee increased years on this earth.

Yet, I know that my gift of a long life extends beyond the physical and into the eternal. Psalm 91:16 says that along with salvation comes the gift of a long life. It’s that gift that motivates me to live as long of a life this side of heaven as possible, living out His will on earth as it is done in Heaven.

Not Getting Any Older!

Even as I struggle with the aging of my body and seeking to live out God’s will on this earth, I find great comfort in knowing that what I see is not really reality. Yes, my body is getting older, dying actually. That’s true for all of us. But, the part of me that will live forever gets renewed every day. So, in a very real way, more real than the aging process I see in the mirror and feel in my joints, I am not getting any older.

I find tremendous comfort in knowing that while my physical body ages and I can’t do anything about it, God renews my spirit daily (2 Corinthians 4: 16). That spirit is what will live with Him in eternity.

I’ll also one day get a new body that won’t decay (1 Corinthians 15:53). Knowing I am getting a body that God intends to live for eternity is very exciting to me.