Why couldn’t we have been born old and die young?

There seems to be a lot of ‘if’s’ in these next verses!

But they also contain great hope and promise!

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (Romans 8 v 9-11)

We are all getting older aren’t we? We talk about our diet and exercise more as we get older because we want to prolong our stay here. We spend hours at the surgery, the chemist, pills, creams and potions. I even went to a chiropodist the other day very reluctantly. I thought only old people go there. I quite enjoyed it.

I don’t want to grow old. Why couldn’t we have been born old and die young. That would be amazing wouldn’t it?

But one thing I want to pursue is that as I am getting older and as my body is gearing itself to go downhill that I don’t die old in my spirit. The Paul underneath this wrinkly skin and balding head must be youthful, passionate and energetic for the things of God. I don’t want to complain that the church isn’t good enough or its members don’t have the experiences I have had. I want to be fun to be around. I want people to want to have a coffee with me. That’s my long term goal. Now how will that happen? It’s all in the IF.

…if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit …

But if Christ is in you …

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus …

For the Holy Spirit has not passed away. He is alive today in our lives. The same Holy Spirit who the Apostle says raised Jesus from the dead will also cause the greatest breath to come upon us when we breathe for the last time on this earth, so that we too will not die but live for ever.

He does not grow old. He is today in our lives witnessing to us in every doubt, situation and circumstance. How do we know what we know? How can we speak so confidently that it would seem like we were witnesses of the events of Christianity? It is the partnership of the Holy Spirit who continually speaks to us and through us. How can we be so positive? How can we be as passionate for God and the Church as we were 40 years ago? It is because the Holy Spirit has not aged and He is in us! So today, thank Him. Ask Him to go on witnessing as your partner in the gospel. We are indeed not alone! We can die old but be very young all at the same time!