What I am trying to get at is, that depending on your age, there is usually a point in time we look forward to; such as becoming a teenager or being able to drive. So here is the list of big moments to shoot for.
Age
1-10--Every birthday is an important one
13----You're finally a teenager
14----You get your drivers permit - Enter high school give or take a year - Get a Job
16----Full fledged license - Get a Passport - Join the Millitary
17----R-Rated Movies - Apply for a Pilots license - Buy Firearms
18----Vote - Buy Tobacco - Buy Fireworks - Apply for a Credit Card - Tattoos - Jury Duty - Marriage without consent - Enter Gentleman Clubs - Leave Home without consent
21----Buy and Drink Alcohol - Adopt a child - Play the Lottery
Some of the things listed are dependent upon the state which you live
So as it appears, 21 is the final checkpoint before not much else happens. There aren't really anythings that separate one age to the next. Things start to meld together and not offer any reason to want to age past 21. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing like finally gaining the ability to do something that you couldn't otherwise do at an earlier age. I still remember hitting 21 and going to the local gas station to buy Smirnoff the very night I hit that 21 year old checkpoint. I proudly pulled the alcohol from the cooler and put it and my I.D. on the counter. I had no deep desire to drink, in fact, it was the middle of the week and I had work the next day, so I wasn't about to get drunk.
The point is, I didn't do it because I needed to or had to, but because I could. The divider that was preventing me from being able to do something, was seen as a moment to conquer. A chance to do something simply because there was no one that could stop me anymore. It felt like right of passage. In the bigger scheme of things, a life with Christ can feel the same way.
When starting off on our spiritual journey, it is nothing but checkpoints. One after another learning about different aspects of the Bible and then applying them to our lives. Growing and gaining understanding of new principles and seeing them work in our lives or with other people. From there we learn that we need to tell others about it and help people start their own journeys. Then, just like hitting 21, there stops being any purpose to doing what we have been doing. The checkpoints disappear under the guise of something we've conquered and now what is there?
When is the last time you really felt special driving your car or buying a beer?? Well why would you?? Where is the joy in the simplistic act of doing, just because you can?? We can't forget that checkpoints are not about the completing, just for the sake of moving on to the next one; Rather a point in history to look back and remember how they made you feel and what they accomplished. Get in your car and grip the wheel as if this is your first drive on your own. Buy a lottery ticket just because you have a couple extra bucks in your pocket and remember the thrill of the chance. Read a verse in your Bible like you never have before and apply to your life with the child like faith you once had. Tell your coworker about Christ in your life and who Christ would be in his or hers just so you could experience the great joy there is in giving someone a life worth living.
Just like you use to, just because you could.
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