{"id":3650,"date":"2014-01-29T01:56:19","date_gmt":"2014-01-28T23:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=3650"},"modified":"2014-01-29T01:56:19","modified_gmt":"2014-01-28T23:56:19","slug":"13-ways-to-age-faster-and-look-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/13-ways-to-age-faster-and-look-older\/","title":{"rendered":"13 Ways to Age Faster and Look Older Sooner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently I was looking through some pictures from a few years ago when I ran across a picture of myself that shocked me.<\/p>\n

The picture was taken in Kharkov, Ukraine in 2006 while we were visiting on our survey trip. A year later we were moving to Ukraine and beginning ministry, language learning and everything else involved with getting set up in a foreign country.<\/p>\n

What shocked me about the picture was how much my appearance has changed in just 7 short years!
\n\"Snow<\/p>\n

Did I get old in just 7 years?<\/span><\/h4>\n

The main difference I noticed was the color of my hair or lack of!<\/p>\n

I tend to think of myself as still in my early 20’s but now photographs and the mirror are making me rethink that assumption.<\/p>\n

Then I thought to myself why am I so concerned about looking old? After all getting old is a good thing isn’t it?<\/p>\n

Then it dawned on me that our culture is constantly telling us that age is bad and that we should do everything possible to color the gray and hide the wrinkles.<\/p>\n

The pursuit of youth<\/h4>\n

Our society spends millions dare I say billions of dollars on anti-aging gels, wrinkle erasures and plastic procedures all in the pursuit of youth.<\/p>\n

But should Christians be pursuing youth? I say “no!”<\/p>\n

In fact I believe that followers of Jesus we should pursue age not youth!<\/p>\n

The problem in the church today isn’t that we are too old but rather that we are too young and immature. We have too many adolescent Christians who have failed to grow up.<\/p>\n

Age is better<\/h4>\n

If you examine God’s Word you will find overwhelming evidence that age is far better than youth and maturity more desirable than immaturity.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Age is to be honored<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.” \u00a0Lev 19:32<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Righteous living leads to the appearance of age<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.” Pro 16:31<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Wisdom comes only with age<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.” Job 12:12<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Spiritual maturity comes with age<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”2 Cor 4:16<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Age is a gift from God<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Exo 20:12<\/p>\n

              \n
            • And don’t forget that the older you get the closer you are to heaven!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              How to get old faster<\/span><\/h4>\n

              Here are a few suggestions I have for ways you can accelerate your own aging process.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Don’t avoid difficult tasks<\/li>\n
              2. Learn a new language<\/li>\n
              3. Walk with people through their tough times<\/li>\n
              4. Raise children<\/li>\n
              5. Disciple someone<\/li>\n
              6. Read God’s Word for yourself<\/li>\n
              7. Learn from all your experiences<\/li>\n
              8. Teach others what you have learned<\/li>\n
              9. Serve others without expecting return<\/li>\n
              10. Build deep relationships<\/li>\n
              11. Be faithful in everything<\/li>\n
              12. Commit to the long term<\/li>\n
              13. Read books that challenge you mentally<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Question: What other items can you add to my list? What activities have helped you grow up?<\/h4>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Recently I was looking through some pictures from a few years ago when I ran across a picture of myself that shocked me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,31],"tags":[315,316],"class_list":["post-3650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","category-writing","tag-age","tag-maturity"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Snow-morning-and-Discovery-baptist-001.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-WS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5185,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/51-nine-misconceptions-about-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":3650,"position":0},"title":"#51 Nine Misconceptions About Ministry","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 13, 2015","format":"audio","excerpt":"Misconceptions and false expectations about ministry can disappoint and discourage us. 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