KEY SCRIPTURE: Mark 4:25  

For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. 

RELEVANCE

Cicero once said, "Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the face, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-interest, fear, despair—these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust."

We had a friend drop in for a cuppa recently. We hadn't seen him since before COVID. He was a little greyer but healthy enough with good news about himself and his family. It was great to see him and hear of the plan he had for himself. 

He is 62, had heart surgery five years ago, and works nine days per fortnight. He has thought deeply about his future for God—what he can do to grow. In Luke 19:13, Jesus tells us to occupy till I come. In the illustration, he used money, a straightforward way to convey a point. However, we're on this earth to occupy as best we can all the areas of life, not just finance.  

Our friend had dissected each area of his life—Finance, Career, Health, Recreation, Community, Family & Friends, God and Spiritual life. At the top of each category, he wrote the word Growth. He is planning the next few years of his life with as little waste as possible. That is admirable. 

I recall a Christian grandmother of 83 years who, when she died, had beside the bed her goals for the next ten years. She wasn't planning to grow old. As Cicero said, we grow old when we desert our ideals and let our enthusiasm expire and our soul wrinkle. Age is just a number. We can remain on fire for the Lord until we drop. 

The question is, are you aging without purpose? Do you float from day to day? Years go by, and although you are moving forward, the progression is so slow you would sack yourself if you were employed doing it. 

Christ and all the disciples, including Paul, moved with purpose. Therefore, we should move forward with the same fire of desire and identical motivation to challenge ourselves daily. We shouldn't be the same twelve months on. Even CPI rises by a few percent every year. 

Christ wants us to be incrementally different as we age. Ephesians 3:19 underpins this when it says, And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be FILLED with ALL the FULNESS of God. 

We become filled when our determination runs hot. Our prayer life increases, we develop habits of spiritual leadership, and we force the boundaries of our knowledge. 

This opening up of ourselves allows the Holy Spirit greater and faster access to every spiritual cell until the Lord has completely consumed us. 

What a miraculous way to live.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, please help me to grow more valuable with age—wiser in aptitude but younger in spirit —so that I can reach people of all ages and levels that you have put before me at any stage in my l