The Pull of The Old (Thought for October 2022)

One of the characteristics of our times is how much we value and crave the new. As soon as a new phone comes out, suddenly the old one looks dated. A new version of the model of my car comes out, and look how old-fashioned those previously sleek curves on the chassis look.

You look at an old photograph of you, and – to allude to an observation a friend of mine made – you wonder how you could think that hairstyle ever looked cool. I’m sure you have your own examples.

But alongside this, I have observed the pull of the old. In clothing, certain styles are timeless: they have always been around, and looked the same. Britain’s many castles and palaces, quaint villages and ancient tearooms draw many tourists from abroad.

If the monarchy is to last, the fact that it reaches back a thousand years is a major factor in that.

“He has also set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Though we are locked in the present as far as our experience goes, yet we crave the connection to the eternal. We don’t want to disappear like the latest fad. We want to go on. Experiencing

something of the ancient, the old, gives us this sensation; that we are part of something greater, ancient, timeless, that has stood and will stand the test of time.

Yet God alone is eternal. Kingdoms come and go, what you hold now is going to be gone one day; everything changes, even the earth itself will pass away in its current form, but God is going nowhere. And He has put eternity in your heart that you may long for Him. Nothing you do or experience on earth will satiate this hunger (read the verse above in context). But those who belong to Him in Jesus Christ will enjoy Him forever.

Listen to your craving for the old: it will serve you well.