Last night, Barbara Walters hosted a special on ABC entitled "Live to Be 150: Can You Do It?" I almost laughed out loud at the suggestion. The situation reminded me of a man I once knew named John who drove a really old, beat up Plymouth Valiant. He snickered once as I heard him say, "If I suddenly came into millions of dollars, I'd get four new tires for my Valiant!"

The absurdity and obvious humor in John's statement reminds me of Barbara's sentiments as well: Instead of working toward a new model, they're busy thinking up ways to fix up the old one to keep running long after its prime. Walters forecasted, "In the future, you'll be able to replace old body parts the way you would replace the old parts of a car [via stem cells]. Scientists are looking into ways to treat diseased organs, which can prolong life."

The parallel to our Christian lives is stark. We like to look and feel good. Hair, makeup, clothes, manicures--we're fond of them all. We search for the newest ways to exercise, eat right, and find the best medical care. As well we should.

But if we don't watch, we, too, can spend so much time, money, and effort trying to fix up this old body that we don't concentrate on the new one that we received when we accepted Christ as our Savior. Take a look at these verses:

"Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:21-24.)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:16-16).

"New" is the word hainos (pronounced kahee-noss). It means unused, fresh, novel. It means new in regard to form or quality, not in reference to time. It means we don't have to be captive to the same habits, responses, and ways of doing things that we did before we knew Christ. It means we have truly discovered the fountain of youth, called "the new man," which makes us continually transform to be more like Christ. And it means that our greatest purpose for taking care of the old man is so we can work on the new one and remain strong and viable enough to accomplish God's assignment for our life until the end.

Live for 150 years? Nope, not interested. Don't have to. Not remotely tempted to put new tires on this old frame.

'Cause we have something better. We've got an eternity of 150 years to look forward to as a "new man", not a redressed old one. And for right now, our job is to "put on" that new man, the one who looks, acts, thinks, and responds like Christ in true righteousness and holiness.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

I'm up for that. What about you?