The ‘real you’ isn’t getting any older
We have all heard the saying, “You are not getting any younger.” But what you may not realize is that the “real you” is not getting any older. You see, your soul does not age. After all, how can something that is immortal be measured in years?
It would be like trying to assign a number of years to the angels. God created them as immortal beings, and therefore they do not age. Like the angels, you too are an immortal being.
This intrinsic dynamic explains why so many elderly people still feel youthful on the inside. It is rather surreal to have your soul feel young even though your body shows plenty of wear and tear. Your outer shell doesn’t seem to line up with your inner being. One is “wasting away” (2 Corinthians 4:16), while the other is eternal and will exist forever.
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The real you is not your age, your body, or your bank account. You have an immortal soul that is invisible to the human eye. And the thoughts, goals, desires and decisions of your soul make up the real you.
The world assigns a value to you based upon your age, abilities, appearance and net worth. Your value in the eyes of man increases or decreases as those four variables change throughout your lifetime. Thankfully, God looks at you much differently. In fact, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
The real you is not your outward appearance or your physical vitality. The real you is who you want to be. And it consists of your decisions and the daily meditation of your heart. If others could read your mind and examine your thoughts and priorities, what would they discover? God of course knows every thought that enters your mind.
David wrote, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways” (Psalm 139:1-3).
What does God see when he looks at the real you? You know, the person behind the mask. I am not suggesting that you are pretending to be something you are not. I simply use the word “mask” to point out that our physical appearance is something the world obsesses over, while God looks at you and I much differently. He looks at our motives, intentions, decisions, and priorities, all of which lie behind the mask.
What is your top priority in life? Would you rather please others or please God? When the Lord enters a person’s life, priorities definitely change. The Messiah motivates his followers to live for an audience of One. A relationship with Jesus Christ is extremely liberating, refreshing and satisfying.
This doesn’t mean that you will never again worry about what others think of you. But you will definitely begin to experience peace based upon what God says about you. When you know that you are accepted by God, the inner peace is amazing. And things like age, appearance and money all begin to take a back seat to your new identity and your Christ-centered priorities.
Many people spend their entire life focused only on the things they can see. Jesus offers us something far superior to that natural approach. “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The supernatural grace of God satisfies our soul and renews our mind. The Lord transforms His people from the inside out (Romans 12:2). “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
Are you paranoid about getting older and stressed out about things that pass away? The cure for focusing too much on outward things is found in Scripture: “Fix your thoughts on Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1). “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
So, is Jesus the author of your faith and the Savior of your soul? Turn your eyes on the One who lived a perfect life, died a holy death, and rose from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). No one ever regrets having a close relationship with the Lord.
The real you enters into communion with your Creator when you receive Christ as your Savior (John 1:12). Only those who turn in faith to Christ find themselves saved, redeemed, born again, forgiven and justified. And only then can you truly say, “It is well with my immortal soul.”
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
