In a day when physical beauty and supreme health are prized so highly, it is no wonder that many of us “baby boomers” begin to question our worth as we grow older. The Bible teaches us that there is much more to life than looking and feeling good. We are told that Absalom was the best looking man in Israel (2 Samuel 14:25), yet he died an ignoble death opposing God’s anointed, his own father (2 Samuel 18:1-17).
As for the beauty and charm of a woman, the Scriptures tell us that, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30). There’s nothing wrong with looking our best and maintaining good health, but to pursue these things to the neglect of the soul, is foolish (Matthew 16:26).
If we’re wondering if we have anything to offer because our “outward man” isn’t what it used to be (2 Corinthians 4:16), know that “….the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). When the Lord made this statement, David was a young, strong, and attractive man. This tells us that at every stage of our life, God is concerned with our heart rather than our outward appearance.
Abraham was an old man when the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am Almighty God; walk before me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). As we grow older, we may not be able to walk as well as we once did, but we can still “walk before the Lord.”
Dear reader, no matter how old we are, let our “walk before the Lord” be like the “walk” of Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth. Luke records that, “they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:5-6). There’s no greater “walk” than that!
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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