“Old? Well, the heavens are old; this earth is, too;
Old wine is best, maturest fruit most sweet;
Much have we lost, more gained, although ‘tis true
We tread life’s way with most uncertain feet.
We’re growing old!
“We move along, and scatter as we pace
Soft graces, tender hopes on every hand;
At last with grey streaked hair and hollow face,
We step across the boundary of the land
Where none are old.”
We are not merely bodies. There is a life within our body which goes on when the body has ceased to exist. The inner man does not wear out as the body wastes. It does not grow old, nor become feeble with the years. The inner life is not dependent on the outer. One may be physically broken and decrepit, and yet spiritually strong. St. Paul states this truth when he says, “though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.” The outer may be destroyed, and the man still lives on. “I will kill you,” said the emperor in his rage to an undismayed follower of Christ, standing before him. “That you cannot do,” said the Christian, “for my life is hid with Christ in God.”
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