He's in training for a medic course alongside men half his age, and getting the "do you work out?" question a lot lately.
His answer's the same as ever: "No, I work outside."

But this time there's a training programme behind it too, and that's got him thinking about a much older kind of training programme, one Paul wrote about from a prison cell.

"We are wasting away," Paul says plainly.
No spin, no positive-thinking veil pulled over it.
Body, situation, energy, finances, there's always something fraying at the edges for all of us.
Paul doesn't deny that.
But he says something else is happening at exactly the same time for those who've staked their life on the risen Jesus: inward renewal, day by day, running alongside the outward wearing out, not instead of it.

Here's a thought worth pondering.

An elephant's toenail wears down constantly under all that weight, but it's growing the whole time from a living root, keeping pace with the wear so the elephant never runs out of nail.

The bit you can see is already on its way out.
The renewal is happening out of sight, day by day, underneath it.
That's not a bad picture for what Paul's describing.

This isn't "find your inner strength" self-help.
It's a specific promise, on offer to anyone ready to hand their life to Him and crack on with following Him.

The human body is a wear part, like a tyre, it's built to wear out.
But in Christ there's a renewal running underneath that whic no amount of ageing can touch.

Are you up for that?

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Info Retention Quiz

1. What does Paul say is happening to us outwardly, according to this passage?
A) Growing stronger
B) Wasting away
C) Staying the same
D) Multiplying

2. What does Paul say is happening inwardly, day by day, for those who trust Christ?
A) Nothing changes
B) A slow decline
C) Renewal
D) Confusion

3. Is the inward renewal instead of the outward wearing out, or alongside it?
A) Instead of it
B) Alongside it
C) Only after death
D) Only for young people

4. What does the speaker compare the human body to, in terms of wearing out?
A) A tyre
B) A candle
C) A river
D) A mountain

5. What kind of claim does the speaker say this is NOT?
A) A biblical claim
B) A claim that everyone has an untouchable inner core through positive thinking
C) A medical claim
D) A claim about the afterlife only

6. Who is this inward renewal available to, according to the speaker?
A) Only those already following Jesus
B) No one currently, it's a future promise only
C) Anyone ready to hand their life to Jesus and follow Him
D) Only clergy and church leaders

Answers

B) Wasting away
C) Renewal
B) Alongside it
A) A tyre
B) A claim that everyone has an untouchable inner core through positive thinking
C) Anyone ready to hand their life to Jesus and follow Him

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