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Getting older... They tell us you can plot your aging process when policemen start appearing young, then when doctors don’t seem old enough to have qualified and you’re really getting on once you’ve got a few years on the Prime Minister. Oh dear. I am three years older than David Cameron. Last month I had another shock – I went to a concert to see a band I loved in my youth; those skinny, indefatigable angry young men were just like me, and they still are; only now they are balding, pot-bellied and needing to sit down half way through to catch their breath. Most of the audience were similarly middle-aged; it was the band’s 40th anniversary tour, after all. St. Paul had been an angry young man too; in his 20’s he travelled far and wide to crush anyone he felt was promoting falsehood; encouraging the persecution, and even killing, of anyone who dared to call themselves “Christian”. After his dramatic encounter with Christ (where the expression “Damascus road conversion” comes from) he started to passionately promote Christianity rather than trying to destroy it. Motivated now by love, his method of trying to influence people changed radically and he became known for his respectful, humble and, at times, humorous way of talking to people; often attracting large crowds to hear him. 28
BAWTRY TODAY
In his middle age Paul noticed that his body was slowing down but he didn’t allow it to discourage him; when aged about 55 he wrote; “We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” As I preside over my crumbling body (dimming eyes, failing hearing, coronary heart disease, aching back, etc, etc) St. Paul encourages me not to focus on how to try and delay the inevitable but rather to be doing all I can to be fostering the growth and energising of my inner, spiritual, life. So when you feel a midlife crisis coming on, don’t dig out that 30 year old rock n roll T shirt; rather spend your time, money and energy on the renewal of your inner, spiritual, life – after all, while your body may last up to another 40 years, your spirit will live for ever. I want you to join me in dancing and enjoying music way past our 50’s.
Pastor Simon Carter
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MUNITY
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