Old Long Since

Old Long Since

2 Thessalonians 2:15 NASB

So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

   At New Year’s, we traditionally sing the old song, “Auld Lang Syne.”  Most people couldn’t tell you what those words mean and have no idea what they’re singing about.  “Auld Lang Syne” is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns and means “old long since,” or in our modern language, “days gone by.”  “Auld lang syne," as it appears in the first line of the chorus, might be loosely translated as "for (the sake of) days gone by.”

   The song is telling us to remember and think about the days gone by.   I usually tell people not to dwell on the past because we, with our human nature, tend to remember past wrongs and failures and not so much the good times.  But I do want to encourage you to remember what the Lord has done for you and pass those stories on to the next generation.  Remember when you overcame temptation and remember when you were encouraged by a Bible verse and remember when you prayed and saw the answer come. 

   Doing a careful study of the people of Israel when they were wandering in the wilderness, you can see where those people did remember what the Lord had done for them.  And they must not have been passed onto the next generation what God had done.  Every crisis that confronted them we see someone speaking up and telling people how great it had been in Egypt.  To hear them tell the story you’d think living in Egypt had been a great time! Plenty of food and time to sit under a shade tree and enjoy life.  Forget about the whips and the starvation diet and the little boys taken off and killed.  Life was so much better back in Egypt!

Numbers 11: 4-6

4 Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? 

5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 

6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

   Notice that the people never dwelt on the upside to the story: the death of Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea or the water from the rock and the food lying around in the morning waiting to be picked up.  No one talked about the Law written by God’s own finger on top of the mountain, they missed their old way of life!

   Do we get this bad?  Yes, unfortunately we do.  I once heard a preacher say that the most ungrateful people in the world were Teens and Christians.  We have been delivered from our sins and given the gift of eternal life and we complain about everything!  Have you taken time recently to think about what you have been given rather that what you think you’re missing?  I think I want to be rich but am I thankful for a warm house and a loving family and a hot dinner every night?   Sadly, I am so used to things being as they are I forget to thank God for the blessings I receive every day.  And I forget to thank God for them. 

   At the end of this year, I encourage you to remember “auld lang syne" and next time you are asked, tell someone about what God has done for you.

Stephen Cram                            December 30, 2012                    Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8