To Be "Growing Young"

You know, we often talk about our spiritual life in terms of age. We say things like "growing up" and "mature" to describe a positive direction in our spiritual lives and "infant" and "babes" to talk about an immature path. And those are all fine and dandy and biblical. But perhaps developing a better spiritual life not only helps us "grow up" but also helps us "grow young."

Growing young is the recapturing of innocence lost; the losing of reason and logic for the gaining of childlike faith. In Matthew 18, when Jesus was asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" he pointed not the old and wise but to children. Why? Because children still retain an element of innocence in their lives. They can still believe without having to hear a reasonable explanation first. They see Jesus and go running straight to Him.

Rich Mullins was one of my biggest influences as a young adult. The singer-songwriter-poet-philosopher had a knack for turning the complex truths of faith and life into simple declarations of everyday truth. He wrote a song back in 1992 about this concept of growing young. Of recapturing what had been lost in his life as he had "seen silver turn to dross" and "have known so many secrets I wish now I did not know."

I don't know about you, but I long for that innocence. I long to forget things I've learned in life, things that have caused me pain and not joy. Even though I know I can learn things from the pain and hurt, I wonder what it would be like to not have had those experiences. What it would be like to be young again. I wish I could remove images and sounds, feelings and thoughts, anything that had taken my innocence away bit by bit, chunk by chunk. But it's hard.

However, the longer I walk by the Spirit, the easier I find it is to remove those stains on my life. They will never go away this side of heaven, but they can become less of a burden on my heart and in my head. Indeed, the longer I walk by the Spirit the younger I grow. And, maybe, if I walk long enough, I can be young again.

Don't you want to be "young" again?

Here's Rich's song.

GROWING YOUNG

I've gone so far from my home
Seen the world and I have known
So many secrets I wish now I did not know
'Cause they have crept into my heart
They have left it cold and dark
And bleeding, bleeding and falling apart

And everybody used to tell me big boys don't cry
Well I've been around enough to know that was the lie
That held back the tears in the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well, we are children no more, we have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits and He watched down the road
To see the crying boys come running back to His arms
And be growing young.

I've seen silver turn to dross
Seen the very best there ever was
And I tell you, it ain't worth what it costs
And I remember my father's house
What I wouldn't give right now
Just to see him and hear him tell me that he loves me so much

And when I thought that I was all alone
It was your voice I heard calling me back home
And I wonder now, Lord, what it was that made me wait so long
And what kept you waiting for me all that time
Was your love stronger than my foolish pride
Will you take me back? Take me back and let me be your child?

Cause I've been broken now, I've been saved
I've learned how to cry and I've learned how to pray
And I'm learning, learning even I can be changed

1992, Rich Mullins & Beaker, from the album, "The World as Best I Remember It, Vol. 2"