February 7
Thirties
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. … My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. ––Psalm 51:10,17
I once had a pastor who believed that everyone is 33 years old in heaven, complete with their new imperishable bodies. Thirty-three, of course, because that was Jesus’ age at the time of His resurrection and ascension in bodily form. Though I’ve never found any biblical evidence for the “33 theory,” it’s an interesting idea. We will just have to wait and see when we get to heaven.
What I have observed about a man’s thirties, however, is that it’s usually the culmination of what I call the age of idealism—the formative years from childhood through early adulthood. It’s also a time of necessary egocentrism: discovering one’s identity, a lifestyle apart from family, and refinement of one’s worldviews. I believe it’s an egocentric time in a neutral sense: a man has to work hard and grasp the importance of duty and responsibility to make it in the world. Start a career/vocation, establish a home, etc. One’s view of God is still in flux—perhaps not in the sense of one’s certainty about Jesus/salvation, but in terms of what it looks liked to walk with Him every day.
Here are some key milestones that typically happen in a man’s 20s and 30s:
- Preparation is powerful. God values preparation because it causes us to stop, think, listen, and learn—rather than moving before pulling a “ready, fire, aim” approach on life.
- Timing is crucial. God’s time-frame rarely fits ours. It’s during the in-between time that He teaches us about His will, how His Kingdom operates, and empathy toward others whose prayers don’t instantly get answered.
- Patience is learned. When I was in my 20s, I had the patience of a fruit fly. I wanted it now, and didn’t want to be told to “wait,” especially when prayers seemed to go unanswered or time dragged on. It’s in the waiting that maturity is forged.
- Adversity builds humility. Humility is tricky. It’s not like we say, “Okay, on three everyone be humble.” I’m convinced that humility is born out of the context of experience and pain, rather than out of books or programs.
If you are not yet 30, ask the Lord to forge His patience and character in you. Submit to the lessons that “the waiting game” wants to teach you. For those of us who perhaps “missed it” or skipped the growth periods of one or more of these building phases, it’s not too late. God knows that I’m still learning—especially in the patience and humility departments. It’s never too late to grow; it’s always possible to learn.
Father, thank You for Jesus, who serves as our model for how to come of age in this life. Help me learn—or re-learn—the lessons You want to teach me in the process of conforming to the image of Your Son.