Eternal Life or Eternal Youth

I had a fascinating discussion with my daughter this morning. It began like this, "Mama? Does the Bible say we will have eternal LIFE or eternal YOUTH?" I responded by asking what she thought "youth" was. She expressed that she associated "youth" with strength and health, but age with weakness and illness. My grandmother lives in a nursing home in town and we make it a point to visit her weekly. She has noticed how my grandmother's body and mind are fading, and she assumed that this decay is NATURAL. But it's not. I explained to her that decay comes because something has died, and death comes because of sin. Therefore, our bodies decay with age because we sin.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Genesis 2:16-17
 
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned--
Romans 5:12

But when Christ returns, we, as believers, will be sealed so that we can no longer sin-- ever again!!! It will be glorious!

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21:4
 
That's point one, the second is a bit more tricky. We are told, in poetic language that we will get new bodies. We know from Christ's body, after His resurrection, that we will be able to touch and eat and drink as we do now. We know that there will be at least SOME physical resemblance to our present bodies. But that is about the extent of it...

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
1 Corinthians 15:53-54

So... LIFE or YOUTH? My conclusion this morning is that it doesn't really matter, because all the ill effects of aging will not be present in the kingdom!

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 22:1-5