The Old, Good Way

"Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'"

Jeremiah 6:16

In this world what is new grows old and wears out.  Over time countless items have broken or become useless due to age.  I put on some shorts I hadn't worn in awhile and was surprised to realise the elastic had completely perished inside the waistband.  I bought a car with tyres that still had plenty of tread on them but the sidewalls had started to dry out and crack due to exposure to the elements over time.  With the low cost of mass production and cheapness of plastic items are largely disposed of when they are old and worn out.  Having something "new" is often preferable over the old.

While this is true concerning perished rubber and brittle, discoloured plastic, this is not true concerning God's wisdom and ways.  God urged His people to stand at the ready and "ask for the old paths, where the good way is."  When we describe something as old today, it often correlates with outdated and irrelevant.  There was absolutely nothing wrong with the old paths:  the problem was God's people had forsaken it.  The old, good way was not inconvenient or ineffective.  Because the old way of faith, obedience and fear of the LORD had been abandoned, God's people were seduced by idolatry, were troubled from within and without, and suffered greatly.

Believe it or not, people were more apt to redouble their efforts to worship idols than to believe rest for their souls was found in going back to the beginning of their walk with God.  In their minds the old ways were not sufficient.  A radical new approach was needed to deliver them from trials and oppression of their enemies.  Again, the problem was not the old paths where the good way was:  they had abandoned those paths long ago and blamed God rather than considering their ways.  They were called to fear God and keep His commandments, for that is the whole duty of man.  They were commanded to love the LORD their God with all their heart, soul and mind, and love their neighbour as themselves.  Their refusal to humble themselves before God was their problem, not that the way was old or unclear.  God had spelled it out for the Hebrews in the Law of Moses, and He has spoken to the church through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is from old, from everlasting.  He identified Himself as the way, the truth and the life.  Jesus provided a new and living way to a relationship with God through the Gospel, but God has imputed righteousness by faith in Him from ancient times.  Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.  Just because a person was raised in the church, it doesn't mean they ever had genuine faith in Jesus Christ.  G.K. Chesterton said it well in What's Wrong With the World:  "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”  The Gospel is relevant for eternity, for Jesus gives eternal life to all who believe He is the Son of God who died on the cross, was buried and rose from the grave.  Let us stand in the faith, abide in Christ and follow our Saviour faithfully who IS the way.