John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

Do you realize the significance of this passage? Does it seem that Jesus is telling Peter he will end up in a nursing home feeble and unable to care for himself? Not likely since nursing homes did not exist in those days. Men in those days worked themselves to death and it was the widows who were cared for in their old age by others. So what is this cryptic message really saying?

All we have to do is look to the preceding passages to discover context.

John 21:17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Peter’s ministry was to build the new Christian church from the converts from Judaism. His beginning ministry was at Jerusalem. Consider this his young start. What is said about this young upstart is noted to be in his own strength. The issue of girding oneself is the inner clothing, not the outer garments. The issue of walking where he wanted was in making his own choices.

So now dealing with the older man, the mature man, Peter would no longer strengthen the inner man nor would he make decisions for himself.

As we mature in Christ we will discover that we too have been transformed thru growth in Christ in the same manner as we seek to serve and obey. If you do not seek to serve and obey, then you are still young and have a lot of growing up to do. That has nothing to do with age.