Posts Tagged: Luke 2:41-52

“Am I Growing with Age, or Just Aging?”

On January 21, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

We are all growing in age, but are we growing with age?  That is the question for today.

Consider, for example, the words that conclude the account of the boy Jesus in the temple.  Luke sums up over half of Jesus’ life in one verse at the end of Luke, chapter 2.

“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

(Luke 2:41–52 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version

https://accordance.bible/link/read/ESVS#Ex._12:48, bolding mine).

My “3-Minute Retreat” from Loyola Press reading for this morning was based on parts of this passage from Luke’s Gospel.  The retreat master asked a very pertinent question: “In what ways am I being called to grow in wisdom, age, and grace?”

And based on this reading (and the Scripture from Luke upon which it was based), I asked myself an equally pertinent question: Am I growing with age, or am I just aging?  Am I still growing with age, or just growing older?

Of course, Luke wrote these words about Jesus when Jesus was just a boy.  We tend to think of boys and girls as growing in stature and weight.  Think of the statement, “Well of course he eats a lot!  He’s a growing boy!”

But what about growing in age?  We recognize that, in a sense, this happens automatically.  Of course, we are growing older!  But that is not the same as growing with age.  While growth has an upper limit when it comes to height (but not, unfortunately, when it comes to weight), and while there is an upper limit to the years we get to live, there is no limit to growing with age.

However, there needs to be some intentionality in our growing.  Growth in age happens no matter what we do or don’t do.  Growth with age is kind of up to us.

A good question for me to ask myself today and every day is this: What will I do today to grow with age?

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