I was walking down the street the other day and I had a thought that was more than a fleeting thought. I've been thinking about it ever since. Here's the thought: I never want to see with old eyes. Or in the words of Ashley Montague, "I want to die young at a ripe old age."
I love the word "neoteny." It means getting old, but staying young. It's actually a zoological term: "the retention of youthful qualities by adults." You never lose that childlike wonder. Your "sense of possibility" never dissipates. You're full of curiosity and energy and playfulness.
Jesus said we must become like little children. A relationship with Christ is a like a second childhood. The word “convert” means “to reverse.” Conversion reverses the effects of sin, but it does more than that. It reverses the effects of aging. We've got to unlearn our adultlike tendencies and recapture childlike qualities. I’ll never forget one of the testimonies at our 2002 Baptism by the Bay. Rachel Lowery said, “Now I’m the person I was as a child—I was always smiling and laughing.”
Get Neotenic!