God is young

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from Jeremiah 6:16-8:7. In this passage, God tells those who are listening (including us), "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the OLD, GODLY WAY, and walk in it."

That's how people tend to think of holiness. The "old fashioned" way, right? Once I told a young lady I was dating that I planned to wait until marriage for intimacy. She looked at me like I was crazy, and then said, "People... don't really do that anymore." I really felt like laughing, because people have been saying that for thousands of years! The idea of living a good, holy life was "old fashioned" 5,000 years ago. And it will still be considered "old fashioned" ten generations from now.

But the thing we must realize is that God, and holiness, are not "old". God doesn't get old. He CAN'T get old. "Old" is a result of death, of decay, of entropy. People get "old" and die because their bodies wear out. But God is eternally new. He is new every morning, new every instant! That doesn't mean He isn't mature... of course He is. But He is forever young - full of wonder, and dreams, and hopes, and joy, and energy. 

And His truth isn't old either. Ancient? Yes, older than most of the countries in the world, if not all of them. But forever new. Forever timeless. Forever applicable. And His truth will never wear out or get used up. 

So we should always do what God calls us to. It's the best answer in every circumstance. Following Jesus will always result in the best results, even if we don't like them very much in the meantime. When we look back, we'll see that it was all for the best.

God, thanks for being forever young. Help us to be like You.