- photo by Susan PageIf we live long enough, we will all experience the big one, and I am not referring to a natural disaster.

Whatever we decide the big one is … 40, 50, 60 or more, these milestone birthdays can bring us to a place of pondering the time we have left on this earth. Milestone birthdays can cause us to reflect on the past and the future. Will we have time to make a positive difference and influence this broken world with the love of Christ? Is now the right time to make disciples? Or more accurately, is there ever a wrong time to pray that by God’s Spirit, we can somehow point someone to Jesus?

I have entered the season of life when there are more years behind than ahead, at least from an earthly perspective. With aging comes clarity and God-willing, wisdom.

I realize that the older I get the more I care.

I care more deeply about people … the lost, the lonely, the least. I care more about my relationship with God, family, and friends.

Conversely, the older I get the less I care.

Gradually, over time, I have learned to care much less about what others think of me or about trivial things that do not have any lasting value. I’m a work in progress, depending on God’s Spirit to remind me of His truth.

In his book In the Name of Jesus, Reflections on Christian Leadership Henry Nouwen said: “As I entered my fifties and realized the unlikelihood of doubling my years, I came face to face with the simple question, “Did becoming older bring me closer to Jesus?” This kind of question can change our perspective as we age, and it is an important question.

Isn’t it interesting that the older we become the harder we must work on our physical fitness since our metabolism and muscle tone completely changes? It is the opposite of our spiritual health. Yes, we need to practice good spiritual discipline, but it becomes easier to focus on Jesus and relax in His presence, goodness and faithfulness as we learn to slow down and be still. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

As the years go by, we can recall past blessings that are a gift of remembrance to how God has brought us through life’s challenges. During a very dark and difficult time in my life, a pastor prayed over me and said that he had been given this verse from God as a gift for me: “They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing” (Psalm 92:14). At the time, I am not sure I fully appreciated the text, especially with the reference to old age, but with each passing year, I call to mind this experience and am deeply comforted.

As we celebrate each milestone birthday, our focus does not have to be on the fact that we are getting older, rather, let us focus on praying that by God’s grace, we are getting better! Better, meaning, by the power of the Holy Spirit we are being moulded into Christ’s image, into His likeness.

Let us draw closer to Jesus, fixing our eyes on the things of lasting and eternal value. After all, big one or not, it’s just a number and God has already planned out our days before time began with the promise that if we believe in Jesus, we will spend eternity with Him!

 Susan Page is the daughter of the King, His beloved child, wonderfully forgiven and blessed! Susan longs to age gracefully, becoming more like Jesus as she seeks the hidden treasures revealed to her through Scripture, literature, the arts, humankind, and nature.