In this biblical meditation, Jen Wilkin offers Christians a compelling and hopeful perspective on aging and the aged.
The world tells us at every turn that aging is a steep descent into irrelevance, one to be avoided at all cost. This false story diminishes not only us but our elders and the time God gives us. But Scripture reveals a markedly different pattern of life, one of increasing value, that calls us to embrace our age and number our days rightly.
In this extended exploration of aging, Jen Wilkin draws poetic parallels between the first half of life and the second. Exploring the changing realities of caregiving, abilities, and potentiality, she helps us to trace God’s give-and-take design at every stage, drawing us toward a vision for a whole-life pro-life ethic. Wilkin offers practical insights on body image, honoring the elderly, the essential value of family, and more. She urges us to trade an anti-aging mindset for the pursuit of biblical wisdom, encouraging believers to lean into—not fight—their place in the true story of the arc of life.
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away
Chapter 2: Birth and Death: The Gaining and Losing of Breath
Chapter 3: First Years and Final Years: The Gaining and Losing of Strength
Chapter 4: Adolescence and Senior Adulthood: The Gaining and Losing of Ability and Possibility
Chapter 5: Early Adulthood and Late Midlife: Caregiving Downward and Upward
Chapter 6: Midlife: The Place of Perspective
Chapter 7: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
| Contributors | Jen Wilkin |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9798874908027 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | July 2026 |
| Dimensions | 127mm x 178mm x 12mm |
| Weight | 0.28 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 208 |
| Publisher | Crossway |
Jen Wilkin’s ministry is a gift to the entire church. In this book, she unmasks the anti-aging messaging we are flooded with in the modern world, inviting us instead to embrace a biblical vision for each different season of life. What this book reveals is surprisingly hopeful and desperately needed in our culture: that, in Christ, aging is not a loss to be feared but God’s appointed path toward fullness and life.
In a culture that idolizes youth, Jen Wilkin’s Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World is a timely reminder that growing older is a gift to receive, not a problem to solve. With biblical clarity and theological wisdom, Wilkin reframes aging through the lens of Scripture, exposing the false narratives the world offers. This book will transform how you view the aging process and deepen your understanding of the sacred responsibility to care for the elderly.
Our image-driven culture, abounding in selfies, filters, and anti-wrinkle serums, warns us to flee from aging lest we fade into insignificance. In Dust to Dust, Jen Wilkin offers a refreshing and direly needed counterpoint to such harmful messaging. Drawing from the chiastic structure and parallelism fundamental to Hebrew poetry, she invites readers into a biblical exploration of God’s good and perfect design throughout the arc of life. Wilkin’s profound observations, keen engagement with Scripture, and practical wisdom promise to guide, enrich, and embolden readers of all ages, inspiring us all to devote every season to God’s glory.
