Editorial October 22, 2018 Issue

Aging—really? No!

Barbara Vining

Who doesn’t get a lift from seeing individuals of “advancing years” taking on and enjoying vigorous and even challenging physical activities, or pursuing an education they missed out on in their youth, or taking on and thriving in a new and demanding career, or expressing grace and genuine love while engaging in volunteer activities that provide needed services for others? And we are especially heartened when we see someone courageously, patiently, and persistently making progress in defeating severe age-related challenges.

What gives us a lift isn’t that these individuals are proud of what they can do at their age, or that they are struggling to keep young, or that, like cheese, they get better with aging. It’s when we see them truly flourishing in and loving the lives they are living day by day—lives that are more concerned with the good they can do than the human circumstances they’ve been dealt.

When you get right down to it, what’s most encouraging is when we see people growing in their expression of beautiful character qualities—such as moral purity, humility, mercy, and compassion. These qualities speak of the ageless spiritual individuality that we all have and that Christ Jesus, through his ministry and teachings, held up for us to discover and to grow in the expression of.

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Bible Lens

Bible Lens—October 22–28, 2018