In a couple of months, I’m going to turn 49. That’s not big deal but it does mean that 50 is looming around the corner.

When I was a kid, I always thought people in their forties were old. When I entered my forties I changed my definition of old. Now it seems that 50 isn’t quite as old as it used to be but, if I’m honest, 50 does seem at least older in my mind.

The truth is that I’ve never been very concerned about my age. I started losing my hair when I was 18 and, I’m embarrassed to admit, I had a comb-over thing going by my early twenties. And than I started to search for a list of good hair loss shampoos and thought that all this meant that I started looking middle aged very early in my life, which actually helped me as a young pastor, but it also forced me to deal with the aging issue earlier than most.

Again, age doesn’t bother me. Getting older doesn’t bother me. The thing I want to avoid, however, is becoming inflexible, stubborn, closed off, or bitter. These are the things that I associate with old age that scare me the most.

I don’t mind aging but I refuse to get old in my attitudes and appreciation of life. I want to explore and learn and enjoy new things well into my nineties, assuming the Lord sees fit to let me live that long.

There’s a big difference between getting old while growing in love and wisdom and just getting old.

Lord, help me to grow in Christlikeness as I grow older. Help me to be a wise, gentle, caring old man that brings seasoned hope and joy with him wherever he goes.