“In 1846 former president John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke. Although he returned to Congress the following year, his health was clearly failing. A friend of his came in and made particular inquiry of his health. Adams answered, ‘I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement; battered by the winds and broken in upon by the storms, and from all I can learn, the landlord does not intend to repair'” (Today in the Word, April 11, 1992).

The sad reality of life is the inevitability of death. All of our bodies will break down, some sooner than others. Cultures throughout time have tried to slow down and even beat the aging process, but all have failed. Death is one battle we will all eventually lose unless the Lord comes first. John Adams had the right perspective about life. He realized that (1) God is the owner, the landlord, of our bodies, and (2) He is in control of how long we live.

This is sad and discouraging, but there is good news! As 2 Corinthians 4:16 says, “… Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

Even though we are getting physically old, weak, frail, and broken, this doesn’t have to happen spiritually. We may get old physically, but we can remain young spiritually. We may get sick physically, but we can stay spiritually healthy. We may get physically weak and frail, but we can remain spiritually strong. We may be persecuted and beaten down, but our spiritual bodies will be renewed and protected. Being a Christian comes with so much hope and reassurance!

It’s important to keep ourselves physically healthy for as long as God allows us to live. However, there is nothing more important than remaining spiritually healthy and “renewing our inner man day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

— Brett Petrillo