Shadowgraphs is a column written from a progressive Christian perspective, based on a concept for an essay from Kierkegaard's work Either/Or.

How old are you? This question elicits many different responses. A child might proudly say 'eight,' a teenager might say 'sixteen in three months,' a vain man in his middle ages might lie or perhaps not even know, a woman on her deathbed might say 'a hundred and eight' with the same pride as a child. I would say 'old enough to die for my country.'

But what is age? Often times we rely on our culture to set that standard. In America we are assigned individual rights and responsibilities according to our numeric age. Our culture also stresses youth--the fun twenties--as the high point in life. Age is seen as a bitter, tragic struggle. Youth, youth, youth! What more could one ask for? I'm sure many of you out there are in your fun twenties. I am. I think it's crap, and I look forward to what's beyond.

When I was eighteen I had a dream that gave me special insight into the unseen benefits of aging. I was holding a vase and had just planted a seed, when at my command it sprouted and started growing before my eyes. A mighty vine soon appeared and I watched in awe as it twisted upward.

Some into psychoanalytic thinking would dismiss this dream as being merely sexual, but I found something different to it; to me that image meant something much deeper than that.

After writing down the dream and thinking it over I thought about my life. I had just started cropping and growing plants for a science class and was astounded at how quickly they grew. It occurred to me that the reason for this was that when I tried doing the same thing as a child they hadn't grown at the pace I wanted them to.

What had happened? The plants were not growing any faster; I was just more accustomed to the passage of time. I had experienced one of the many benefits of aging between my childhood and adulthood--the strengthening of the ability to perceive of time.

I turned to the Scriptures to find support for my dream. In the fourth chapter of Jonah, God causes the vine of a gourd to grow from the ground and shade Jonah in the sun, saving his life. The next morning the vine withers at God's command. Jonah becomes angry at this, but God answers, "doest thou well to be angry?" for Jonah had not raised the vine--God did.

The passage of time is in God's hands. Like Jonah, often we are angry for the things He takes away while not being thankful for the things He provides. God has given us time on this world, and the older we get the faster it seems to go. Regardless of whether or not you believe in life after death, this fact should not grieve you--it should instead be seen for the good things resulting from it: the ability to plan, to see growth, and to have patience. It is my firm belief that each day we draw closer to God, for we are able to see a little more of the infinity He represents.

Respect your elders, and look forward to aging! This value, almost universal among the ancient and spiritual cultures of the world, has more worth than American society gives it. Age is waiting for us with many gifts. Whatever your background, I ask you to meditate on this concept and to challenge the unfair assumptions about aging that our culture cruelly makes.