He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you're always young in his presence. (Psalm 103:3-5)
When I look in the mirror sometimes, I am shocked at what I see. When I think of the age I am, I am shocked that this much time has passed so quickly. I am my parents age and they are my grandparents age. My kids are my age!!!
I look at these verses and wonder if this is a clue as to what heaven will be like. I know that through the death and resurrection of Christ and my being in Christ, my sins are forgiven - even before I commit them. And through Christ I am also saved from hell. In Revelation it talks about castings our crowns before Him.
"Physical beauty has a shelf life"
As for diseases, there are often times while on this earth that we are not healed. This body that He has given me is aging and showing signs of wear and tear. There are wrinkles, bulges, and flappy/bumpy skin that wasn't there a few years ago. I think it was in my 40's that I stopped waving at people in sleeveless tops. My aunt pointed out once that I had "chicken wings". Now I am starting to rethink the wearing of sleeveless tops! So I am wondering if this "beauty eternal" is referring to the beauty I will have in heaven.
I so believe that by the age of 35 your face shows exactly what you carry in your heart. It seems that many never smile or have that twinkle in their eye for they have such a hardened heart. But if you really look into the face of an elderly Christ follower - they shine - they are so beautiful you carry the image of their face with you. Studies show that married couples, even people and their pets, begin to look alike as they age. They take on the same mannerisms, expressions, etc. These Christ followers have walked and lived In Him for so long, they look like Him.
That is why I really don't mind getting older in some ways. The closer to Him I become - I feel younger, healthier, joyful, peace, free. I do mind that time is passing so quickly and our time with our kids is more apart than together. On the flip side of that though, it is closer to the time of being together forever in heaven. I do mind that my body isn't able to do the things it used to, or have the energy, strength, endurance, it used to. It is hard to believe that one day I won't be able to do even the little things - like go to the store, up and down steps, etc. That is just how it is with our earthly bodies.
So seeing that so much of these verses goes against the earthly bodies natural aging, makes me again wonder - is this a taste of what heaven is like? Or is it talking about our souls and not our bodies?
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