I ain't dead yet...

(a thought for the new year...)

"Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray

Well it's all right, you still got something to say"

 "End of the Line" by the The Traveling Wilburys

Ok, possibly not the strongest of references for making a philosophical point, but it works for me.

After watching a recent interview of the reknowned Canadian author, MARGARET ATWOOD, I decided that PERSPICACITY might be a worthy goal for 2014.

Around the same time, I was studying the life of Samuel: such an inspiring example!

"And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.” (1Sa 7:15)

He did not simply occupy a position or hold a title; he effectively discerned; spoke wisely; ruled firmly, deferring only to his sovereign: the one, true, God Almighty. He was useable and used of God, "all the days of his life."

I now belong to a group of people that in Spanish is called "gente de la tercera edad". That translates as "People of the Third Age", which in English sounds like the title for a new Sci-Fi trilogy or a creepy horror flick, but means something more benign like "Golden Agers", people over 50 years of age.

"People of the third age" are to be people of wisdom and inspiration. We should not be discounted as irrelevant or treated in a condescending manner. Yet, respect in old age is not a Divine Right; a special esteem does not accrue to us simply because we are still breathing after a certain number of years.

Time is an anvil. We are all pounded and shaped on it. Those who are in Christ are forged into fruit-bearing disciples. It is that or mediocrity. 

But fruit-bearing has to do with service; true service is outward evidence of a healthy "inner man". There is growth, expansion, knowledge, understanding, an eye for things bigger than self-aggrandizement going on inside the heart of a "spiritual man". There is room for compassion and time for others.

Enlargement of soul is an age-old longing. But it won't happen without a sanctified perspicacity. Oh, to know more, to understand more clearly, to be articulate and easily understood, to be sought for what we have attained! We should fight for it. We should resist withering and shrinking. It has to be possible...

It turns out that it is!

Being in Christ means that we are part of the kingdom of God. One interesting characteristic of His kingdom is found in our favorite Christmas time prophecy (Is 9:6-7):

Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end...The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

"Ever extending dominion and endless peace will be brought in by the sublime and lofty King's Son...He is a semper Augustus, i.e., a perpetual increaser of the kingdom;" (Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament - Is 9:7)

Blend that concept with the Apostle Paul's definition of Kingdom: 

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Ro 14:17 AV)

It feels like my life was meant to be fuller, deeper, grander, more expansive, more useful than what it is. I am a child of the "semper Augustus"! It is what God intends (I don't know why He cares, but I am glad that He does).

Juxtaposed with this wonderful prospect is a harsh reality that would sabotage my lofty dreams. If I let them, there are things that would shrink my spiritual man just as life must do to my natural man. Be forewarned:

There are things that shrink; and there are things that shrink.

• Things that shrink (reflexive verb): because it is inherent to the nature of the subject, things that diminish/weaken in and of themselves because they cannot do otherwise. In other words, there is some shrinkage that I cannot avoid, that is out of my control.
• Things that shrink (transitive verb): things that do stuff to the object of the sentence. This is where it gets hairy. I have a say about whether I let some things shrink me or not. I decide if I want my spiritual borders enlarged or if I want to let my spiritual life get smaller and smaller, and pretend that it was inevitable because it was tied to the destiny of my natural man.

I started a list of things that shrink; and another list of things that would shrink me if I let them. They have become too lengthy now to squeeze in here. Maybe I should do a three or four part series with them. Point being, there are a lot of things to be careful about - to avoid even - if I want to be spiritually perspicacious in my old age.

The only hope for a restricted heart is the mighty inworking of the Spirit. He can enlarge the mansion of the soul; but only He can do it. From an A.W. Tozer Devotional

“I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.” (Ps 119:32 AV)

Please pray for me in 2014: I have not been running to obey God's commandments. I have no excuse. It doesn't matter how old I am, or that I have a bad knee. I ain't dead yet. God would enlarge my heart if I would let Him.