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I have never been a skilled mechanic, but there are a few small repairs and maintenance jobs that I can do.  Sometimes it saves me a few bucks, then at other times I wonder if it is really worth all the effort for the little money saved.  But one thing that I am finding out is that crawling under vehicles parked on the cement driveway is not getting any easier as I get older.  Sometimes the effects can last for quite awhile.  I am still in the process of getting over the results of some work I did a few weeks ago.  After crawling on my back under a jacked up car, then twisting and pushing on what I was attempting to repair, the shoulder and joint discomfort that followed was unpleasant; it hindered my sleep and gave me an almost constant reminder of my frailty and limitations.  Nevertheless, I carry on as I remember what my daddy told me a long time ago regarding such things:  “It will get worse!”  Not too encouraging, but just a fact of life.  The good news is that I might have saved fifty dollars doing those repairs myself; the bad news is if I wind up having to go to the doctor to get some relief all of that could be wiped out several times over.  Life seems so unfair at times.

As I watch the vitality of young people it is amazing.  As I sat at a high school football game recently I could only marvel at the resilience of the young men on the field as they would take a hit, crash to the ground, then get up and run like nothing happened.  If I took a fall half as hard as what they endured I would have to be carried away on a stretcher!

It goes without needing to be said that our bodies wear out and cannot serve us efficiently forever, and if we measure the value of life only by what we can accomplish physically we set ourselves up for some huge disappointments.  We should be grateful for physical strength and the abilities that God grants us, yet we should also remember that we are still of value to Him even after we can no longer do the things we once did.

In 1 Corinthians 15:19 the Bible declares that “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (New International Version).  Life here on earth is at its most meaningful state when we have our hope in Christ, but as Paul reminds us, that hope that is genuine extends beyond this life to the glory of God’s presence in Heaven.  So as our bodies wear down and our abilities diminish, we can take courage that there really is a better time and place for those who surrender their lives to Christ. 

We are reminded of this great truth through the encouragement recorded in 2 Corinthians 4:16:  “Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”  It can be disheartening when we experience the degradation of our bodies that takes place due to time, hard work, disease, and / or accident, but it is then that we can choose to grasp the hope that we have in Christ and long to see Him face to face.

Yes, those old aching bones will be better some day for the children of God because  “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in Heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1).