Older and Closer

The late spiritual writer Henri Nouwen asked a question of himself, “Did getting older bring me closer to Jesus?”

I ask myself a lot of questions as I get older.

What am I doing with my life?

Am I fulfilling what I was created for?

Why have I not achieved what I thought I would?

If a believer—a follower of Jesus, not just a religiously inclined person—does not get closer to Jesus as he or she gets older, isn’t it likely that something is probably wrong, or at least improvable?

If a married couple doesn’t get closer as they age, it’s likely they’ve gone into some kind of neutral, cruise-control-marriage-existence-management scheme rather than truly living life together in a meaningful way.

Similarly, if a believer doesn’t grow closer to Jesus as he or she ages, isn’t that also evidence of a kind of neutral, cruise-control-religious-existence-management scheme rather than truly living life with Jesus in a meaningful way?

So what happened with Henri Nouwen? The answer to his question was no. He admitted his growing older only pulled him away from Jesus. “Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger.”

He left his career as professor at Harvard University and went to live and work in a community of mentally handicapped people in Toronto. There, in the obscurity and monotonous drudgery, his soul was healed.

We each do our own thing in response to hard questions, but this question, “Does getting older bring you closer to Jesus?” is not just for old people. If you’re breathing, you’re older than you were yesterday, and you’ll be a day older tomorrow.

Lasting, growing love is intentional. And it’s practiced daily.

Those who do it know it’s worth it.

Loving another person is wonderful.

Loving Jesus is eternal.

What is one thing you could start doing—and would have the will to continue—every day that would bring you closer to Jesus?

One thing. What is it for you?

Will you do it?