Any of you who know me well know that new trucks don’t get me too excited. Give me a good square body Chevy from the 80s, an original Ford Bronco, or even a Dodge with a 12 valve Cummins would make me smile. My wife makes fun of me every time I almost drive into the ditch looking at a workhorse from days gone by. I also really like real workhorses, Percherons, Shire, or an obscure Dutch breed are all favorites. The point is that I like old things, they have memory for me, they spark my creativity as I think about how they might have been used, and they remind me that everything new is not always better.
I recently bought something I have been looking for, an old hymnal in German. Why did I want such a thing? Because I wanted to catch a window into the songs my Grandpa sang. Not for any great nostalgia, or as a rabbit trail from genealogical research. Rather I truly believe that God had given vibrant faith to all of his people throughout all the ages of His people. He loves his people and He wants us to know Him. Recently I read Psalm 145. If you want to hear David gush over God, His love for those before us and those after us look no further than this song of praise.
I love languages and though I am not that good at learning new ones I dabble from time to time. My daughter Izzy loves it too so it's fun for us. So after I bought my, new to me, but very old hymnal I sat down to do some translating. Here is where our technology shines, what would have taken me hours, like when I was laboring over Hebrew to English translations in college, literally took second with Google translate. I want to share a verse of one of these songs by Chr. F. Gellert 1715-1769:
Who prepared me wonderfully? The God who doesn’t need me.
Who is long-suffering in guiding me? He whom I often rejected.
Who strengthens peace in the conscience?
Who gives strength in the Spirit?
Who lets me enjoy so much goodness?
Is it not the Lord who created everything!
There is so much more to the song, but that one verse lifted my soul. It reminded me so much of Psalm 145. Another song has been special to me today and I got to watch my little daughter dance and sing to it. It is “Wait on you” by Elevation Worship and Maverick City. It talks about waiting on God, and that His time and way are good, even as we struggle. I am slow to adopt new things but this song I adopted immediately. I think this is why I love old things and seeing young people love them. Our God is ancient, He has no beginning and will have no end. The reason I love thinking about God’s generational faithfulness is that as a dad I want desperately to pass things on to my kids. Seeing the worship my daughter enacted, thinking about my grandfather singing that old but beautiful song tied it all together for me. Old things are not better because they are comfortable, ask me how I feel in my bones after riding a plow horse, or an old pickup, old things can remind us that God though unchanging is not static. He is moving in His people's hearts, He is neither afraid of tradition nor afraid to let it go. God is at work, if you are young look for a way He worked in the past, if you are older look for a way He is moving in those young in the faith. He is the same God, loves you all the same, and isn’t afraid to keep loving all of us crazy kids no matter how grown up we think we are!
Blessings,
Will