Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Time-tested

Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld (2 Chronicles 20:20).

Some old things lose value with time.  But some things grow better with the passing of years.  Cheese and wine are two obvious examples.  It takes many years before a tree is big enough to climb or relax in its shade.  Fine art grows in value when it establishes the artist’s legacy or comes to represent the time and place where it was created.

Old things have value when they offer perspective on your life.  A lot of books have been written throughout the years, but there are a special few that still speak to us, that touch our souls, that shine a light on the human condition, that offer guidance in dealing with our problems.  Examples include the works of William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, although no piece of literature has touched more hearts than the Bible.

Old things have value because they offer comfort.  There is the comfort of the familiar—decorating your new house with paintings that you bought 20 years ago, paintings that make you feel at home in new surroundings.  There is also comfort to be had from feeling secure—your old phone might not have all the latest features, but you have peace of mind knowing that in an emergency you can use it without hesitation or confusion.  Old things have proven that you can count on them.  God is older than everything else; if anyone has proven his dependability over course of years, it is the LORD God Almighty.

One thing that definitely grows better with age is faith—faith in God the Father and in His Son Christ Jesus.  Faith is a miracle, a gift handed to us by the Spirit of God. Faith clings to the promises of Jesus, promises of forgiveness when you repent of doing wrong, promises of help with life’s struggles when you pray, promises of eternal life if you die trusting in the Savior’s resurrection from the dead.  Faith grows every time we hear or read God’s holy and inspiring word.  Faith grows when setbacks make us rely on God more than we have before.  Faith gives us a perspective on life that is rooted in confidence and hope, trusting that God is fully in charge and is on our side.  Faith gives us the comfort of knowing that God is with us no matter how dark things get, and that He is our steady light at the end of the tunnel.  An old faith is a strong faith, tested and toughened and securely attached to the Savior from heaven.  The world of new ideas has nothing that can offer a better perspective on life, or greater security.

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