GOOD OLD DAYS

Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus. "Why do your disciples disobey our age-old traditions?" they demanded. "They ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat." (NLT Matthew 15:1-2)

Do you know anybody who always talks about the good old days? Hindsight is twenty-twenty. We have all heard that one and we know it is true. The further ahead we get the better we see what we left behind.

Sure, life was different when we were growing up. We had not been through all the trials that got us to where we are right now. It was a simpler life. I for one do not want to go back there. I like cell phones, notebook computers, the Internet, PDAs, movies on demand, microwaves, GPS navigational systems, and all the conveniences we have in the early stages of the twenty-first century.

We want new things without change--a better life without having to give anything up. Everyone wants eternal life. Look how many are using whatever means they can to live longer and longer. It is not just in the movies that people are thinking about cloning themselves as a way to love forever.

True eternity is not a physical thing; it is spiritual. When we become born again, we are born of the Spirit. The next step is to walk in step with Jesus, to take on His nature. As our relationship grows, so do we; change occurs. We must give up the ways of the old traditions to take on the new. No longer do we think how great the good old days were.

Are you ready to give up your age-old traditions?