This morning as I was brushing my hair, I noticed a gray hair. I am 42 years old; my oldest is now 15; my youngest is into double digits. So this gray hair presents a choice:
1. Pluck it because it is a sign of getting old.
2. Leave it because it is a sign of getting old.
I am surrounded by messages telling me that my outward appearance determines my value, and youth has the greatest value. However, as part of the process of renewing my thinking, the Bible has an alternative perspective on my gray hair.
*A concrete reminder that this is not the way it’s supposed to be.
Yes, we grow old which is an indication of sin’s impact – I am physically dying; creation groans under the tyranny of sin’s temporary deterioration. Yet Peter reminds me that “according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). The way I experience life right now is not the way I will experience life for all of eternity. This life is tainted. That life is perfect. This life is temporary. That life is eternal. This life fades. That life shines.
*An indication of (potential) wisdom.
Culturally, we disdain any sign of aging because we are intoxicated with youthful appearance. Biblically, aging is the result of sin’s ravaging all of creation and an indication of potential wisdom. Proverbs 16:31 states: “Gray hair is a grown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” Living long is a gift from God and the potential wisdom gained from longevity and increased experience is a valuable asset.
*A reminder of God’s faithfulness and kindness.
How did I get to the point where I have a gray hair?
Isaiah 46:3-4:
Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
So this gray hair is a reminder of God’s faithfulness and kindness in my life – once again, he has given me breath.
*A call to prioritize my legacy.
A gray hair becomes one of those moments that dissects life and causes me to look back and look forward. What am I living for; what am I accomplishing? Will my life have eternal significance? In Acts 20:24, Paul states, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Ultimately, I will not be remembered a few years from now by many. But I hope that God uses my life to further proclaim his good news and glorify himself. If a gray hair and some aching bones remind me of this, then so be it.
My intention here is not to try and convince any of us that growing old is fun; it is not and there is difficulty and suffering which accompanies age. However, I am attempting to call us to sober up from our intoxication with youthfulness. Let’s live for eternity, not 22!
Oh, by the way, I chose to leave the gray hair. ;-)
