ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. (Prov. 16:31)

Geriatrician Louise Aronson believes there is a “disconnect between the reality of old age and our beliefs about it.”[i] She describes society’s negative view of old age: “to look at old age and see only bodily decline, forgetting that inside the body is a fellow human being.”[ii] Aronson invites us to foster a worldview toward older adults that says: “We still see you, and we still like, love, respect, admire, and are inspired by you, both for who you were and who you are….”[iii] When older adults believe that they are seen, known, and loved, they live fully and graciously as they age. Aronson is not a Christian, and yet, her words challenge Christians to consider what it means to age graciously in an anti-aging culture. To do so, we must consider a biblical view of aging and God’s call to both the young and the old to live all of our days with the hope of glory.

A Biblical View of Aging: Normalcy, Losses, and Benefits of Aging

In the Bible, aging is assumed: “Aging and dying were considered to be natural, expected, even providential processes that were ordained and guided by God rather than discrete chronological stages of human development.”^[iv]  Genesis 15:15 states that Abraham would be “buried in a good old age.” Psalm 90:10 proclaims that our lives are fleeting: “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty . . . they are soon gone, and we fly away.” For this reason, we should “number our days” (v. 12), making the most of each one.

While the Bible assumes that aging is natural, it doesn’t glamorize it. Ecclesiastes 12 portrays the losses of aging graphically, even dismally. Using poetic language and imagery, the author details many casualties of aging, including weak hands trembling, teeth falling out, eyesight dimming, fears worsening, and mourning and grief increasing (vv. 3, 5).

Despite this suffering and loss, aging does have benefits, according to Scripture. For example, it can lead us to anticipate our heavenly dwelling more eagerly: “We know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). In the Bible, aging also brings honor—it is an honor to be aged, and the aged are to be honored. The fifth commandment promises that honoring your father and mother leads to a lengthy life (see Ex. 20:12). Members of the church are exhorted to encourage older men and women and to honor widows (see 1 Tim. 5:1–3). Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for failing to care well for their parents (see Mark 7:9–13). According to the Bible, ageism is unacceptable. In a world that urges us to resist aging, we must recapture the biblical view of the subject. As we do so, we will learn how to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Living Faithfully with the Realities of Aging

Theologian and author J. I. Packer became blind due to macular degeneration at age eighty-eight, but he continued to serve God faithfully until he died five years later. Packer lived as he wrote, encouraging people to see their final years as the “last lap”: “The final sprint, so I urge, should be a sprint indeed.”^[v]  When we embrace the reality of aging, including its suffering, we discover opportunities to bear fruit, to share the gospel, and to enjoy peace in the face of death.

Comfort in and Dependence on Christ

Even the painful losses of aging—loss of independence, loss of health, loss of loved ones—can lead us to a deeper intimacy with the Christ who comforts us in our suffering: “As we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Cor. 1:5). Those who embrace rather than deny the grief of aging will find the comfort of Christ, who suffered physical torment and died on a cross to bring an end to suffering and death.

Embracing the limitations of aging can also lead us to a deeper dependence on Christ, who himself took on the weakness of humanity by becoming man (see Phil. 2:1–11). When we wake up with back pain or need help carrying the groceries, we can turn to Christ and to others for support. As we become even more rooted in our reliance on Christ and others, the Spirit bears fruit in us: wisdom, patience, kindness, empathy, and the foresight to prepare for glory.

Continuing in Ministry

We are neither released nor disqualified from our calling to minister the gospel as we age—ideally, we ought to do so even more. Scripture abounds with stories of older people who shared their wisdom and led people to glorify God. Jethro mentors his son-in-law Moses (see Ex. 18:13–27); Moses in turn mentors Joshua (see Ex. 24:13; 32:17–19; 33:11); and Elizabeth encourages Mary (see Luke 1:39–45). Psalm 92:14 reminds us that the righteous “still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green.”

When we number our days, embracing aging and mortality, we will enjoy greater peace as death approaches. Because we have the hope of immortality, pastor Sam Allberry writes, “The signs of aging are no longer a threat but a promise. Gray hair and deepening lines on my face don’t need to speak to me of a past that I can’t recover but of a future I can barely conceive. The real glory days are not behind but ahead.”^[vi]

Dear friends, we can embrace even the losses of aging with hope, knowing that aging moves us ever closer to the joy of eternal glory.

[i] Louise Aronson, Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life (New York: Bloomsbury, 2019, 397.

[ii] Aronson, 398.

[iii] Aronson, 400.

[iv] Will Willimon, Aging: Growing Old in Church, Pastoring for Life: Theological Wisdom for Ministering Well (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2020), 21.

[v] J. I. Packer, Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014), 22.

[vi] Sam Allberry, What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 185.

Photo by Sergiu Vălenaș on Unsplash