“Realize, My child, that old things can stir new things
within your heart. There is something grand about old things that are still in
good shape. Old furniture, rich with the patina of age and history, is far more
intriguing than the modern stuff. When you sit on it or eat off it or sleep in
it, your mind pictures those in previous centuries who did the same in a world
of candlelight, oil lamps, buggies, and potbelly stoves. Each scrape or dent
holds a story you wish you knew.
Old churches. As you settle into the creaking oak pew, you
can hear the pipe organ filling the sanctuary with one of Bach's masterworks.
The thunderous voice of My servant is in the woodwork, and the altar beckons
you to be still and know that I Am God.
Such sights and sounds can equip you to face your battles
with renewed vigor, for it's the old things---things that have outlived
fashions and fads, that have endured wars and recessions, presidents and
plagues---that remind you to pause and encourage you to strengthen your roots.
But these, My child, do more than prompt nostalgic feelings; they can remind
you that you are not alone in this adventurous pilgrimage from earth to heaven.
By standing on the shoulders of yesterday, the view into tomorrow is not nearly
so frightening.
The Bible is old also---ancient, in fact. Its timeless
stories have for centuries shouted, "You can make it! Don't quit . . .
don't give up!" Its truths, secure and solid as stone, say, "I'm
still here, waiting to be claimed and applied." Whether it's a prophet's
warning, a patriarch's prayer, a poet's psalm, or a preacher's challenging
reminder, the Book of books lives on, offering you new vistas. It still speaks
as it did in the days when reformers heralded hope from strong pulpits, when
roughhewn revivalists pleaded for souls in open-air campaigns, when faithful
expositors taught saints and lived lives of uncompromising integrity, when
rugged missionaries left the comforts of home to carry its message to hostile
tribes and foreign climes.
The truths of this old Book have endured in spite of the
attacks of its critics and the attempts of the Adversary to silence its
message---like an ageless anvil wearing away the hammers.
Though ancient, it has never lost its relevance. Though
battered, no one has ever improved on its content. Though old, it never fails
to offer something pure, something wise, something new.
By touching something old, My child, something new can be stirred within.”