Aging by Stages

It's not uncommon for a young person to want to hurry up and get older for the explicit purpose of having more freedom and privileges. The conflicts of late adolescence and young adulthood tend to center around identity issues that include separating from family of origin.

All too soon the days of youth are left behind, and aging seems to accelerate. The first real hint of this phenomenon shows up around thirty. Up to this point you've been considered a young person, but now you’re thrust into middle age, which may bring on an identity crisis that may have been brewing for years.

The Apostle Paul’s secured life made a radical shift from persecutor of Christians to someone commissioned to carry the Gospel of Christ Jesus to the Roman Empire. Aging within each stage of adult development includes defining what kind of follower of Jesus you aspire to be. Fulfilling God’s design and purpose for you produces joy, confidence and great expectations for all eternity. 

______________________

So be very careful to act exactly as God commands you. Don’t veer off to the right or the left. Walk straight down the road God commands so that you’ll have a good life and live a long time in the land that you’re about to possess.

~Deuteronomy 5:32-33 The Message