I had an interesting conversation today with an older guy. I figure him for late 60s or early 70s. When the conversation ended he left, but then he returned and said he just wanted to share a verse with me. He then quoted II Cor 4:16 to me from the KJV:
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day.
Most of you would know this better from the NIV:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
He then went on to tell me that he has been told, and has felt that he is “getting younger.” He said he felt more rejuvenated, and more energetic than at any time in his life.
This is not the first time an older person has told me something like this. A woman told me that she’d noticed that the new hair growth on her head was coming in darker, replacing the grey hairs.
I told him — and I hope this didn’t sound too new age — that he was simply filled with fresh passion about his faith and that he was drawing on the energy from that passion.
That’s the kind of faith to aim for; a faith that is vibrant and exciting and informs the other areas that make up you: your social interactions, your emotions; and even your physical body. (Compare with Luke 2:52)
There was once a skit by the comedian who played Father Guido Sarducci in which he talked about a planet where people reached a certain age and then started getting younger. The punchline was something to the effect that “you didn’t know if someone was coming or going.” It’s not applicable here except insofar as it introduces “outside the box” thinking. Renewal — if you really think about it — is just that; being made new.
The idea of “getting younger” goes against the basic rules of science, but with God anything is possible. The man I met today said he is “getting younger” and frankly, I have no reason to believe he is not.
Christianity 201 
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