The Dwindles 老化

[Dexu Xia]

The Dwindles

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  2 Corinthians 4:16

It started with a tickle in my throat. Uh oh, I thought. That tickle turned out to be influenza. And that was just the beginning of bronchial affliction. Influenza morphed into whooping cough—yes, that whooping cough—and that turned into pneumonia.

Eight weeks of torso-wracking coughing—it’s not called whooping cough for nothing—has left me humbled. I don’t think of myself as old. But I’m old enough to start thinking about heading in that direction. A member of my small group at church has a funny name for the health issues that assail us as we age: “the dwindles.” But there’s nothing funny about dwindling’s work “in action.”

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul too wrote—in his own way—about “the dwindles.” That chapter chronicles the persecution he and his team endured. Fulfilling his mission had taken a heavy toll: “Outwardly we are wasting away,” he admitted. But even as his body failed—from age, persecution, and harsh conditions—Paul held tightly to his sustaining hope: “Inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (v. 16). These “light and momentary troubles,” he insisted, can’t compare to what awaits: “an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (v. 17).

Even as I write tonight, the dwindles claw insistently at my chest. But I know that in my life and that of anyone who clings to Christ, they’ll not have the last word.

What “dwindles” are affecting you or someone you love right now? What can help you maintain your faith and hope during seasons of struggle or discouragement with health issues?

Father, even as our bodies “waste away,” help me to see those physical struggles through the lens of our hope in Jesus and the glory He promises.

 老化

所以，我们不丧胆。外体虽然毁坏，内心却一天新似一天。—哥林多后书4章16节

我的喉咙开始发痒，直觉大事不妙。结果喉咙痒变成流行性感冒，而那只是支气管疾病的开始。从流感再演变成百日咳，没错，百日咳又变成了肺炎。

百日咳真不是开玩笑的，经过八周撕心裂肺的咳嗽之后，我不得不服老。虽然我不觉得自己老了，但到了这个年纪却不得不正视衰老的事实。我教会小组中的一个成员，把身体不断出状况的情形笑称为“老化现象”，但在身体真正出现老化现象时，可一点都不轻松好笑。

在哥林多后书第4章，保罗提到“老化现象”时，他有自己的看法。第4章记录了保罗和他的团队遭受的迫害。为完成使命，保罗付出沉重的代价，并承认自己“外体毁坏”。但即使他的身体因年龄、迫害和恶劣条件而逐渐老化，他仍紧紧抓住这个盼望：“内心却一天新似一天”（16节）。他坚信“这至暂至轻的苦楚”，根本无法与他所盼望的未来相提并论，也就是那“极重无比、永远的荣耀”（17节）。

纵然当我今晚写作时，胸口仍隐隐作痛。但是我知道，每一个紧紧倚靠基督的人，包含我自己，都不会被老化所击败。

哪些“老化现象”正在影响你或你所爱的人？
当你为了健康问题而感到困扰或沮丧时，
什么能帮助你持守信心和盼望？

天父，即便我们的身体渐渐老化，但求祢帮助我们
相信耶稣应许的永远荣耀，带着盼望来面对健康问题。