How Old Is Old?

Some days, I wake up feeling pretty old.

Some of you who read this, may laugh at that.  A few will chuckle, "Of course you feel old--you are old."  Others will knowingly laugh, "Just wait, when you're my age then you'll feel old!"

Old is a matter of where you are standing.

I've gotten myself in trouble more than once referring to someone as old, only to remember that my conversation partner was the same age as the person to whom I was referring.  I thought I had gotten around the problem when I began never to refer to anyone as old, but only older.  What harm is there in pointing out that someone is of an older vintage than I?  However, the people who are the same age as the ones I point towards, still seem to take offense, even though I have changed from a declarative to a comparative.

In two years Faith Baptist Church will be 50 years old.  That is middle age for a person, and certainly for a church it is an age that marks a significant point.  The fact is that most new church starts fail.  For a church to last 50 years means it has become for now a relatively permanent fixture in the life of the community.  It is on the way to becoming old.

But Georgetown Baptist Church is celebrating 200 years of ministry in the Georgetown community this year.  Now that is old!

Or is it?

My whole definition of old has taken a real turn on this trip.  Nothing in America is old.  Period.  (Except maybe my minivan!)

When we got off the subway in London yesterday, we could see London Tower.  It was built in the early 11th century.  That makes it almost 1000 years old (5 times older than GBC).

But as I was looking around, I also saw a portion of a wall with a statue of a man in Roman military garb in front of it.  I discovered that the wall was built in 196 AD.  196!  That makes the wall as close to the time of Jesus as I am to the Civil War.

An almost 2000 year wall makes even a 200 year old church seem young and spritely.

Despite that, I just can't shake the fact that I woke up feeling old this morning.