By Rev. Aidan Moon

Ancient Words

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.“

– Romans 15:4, English Standard Version

Trinity College Library, Dublin

Reading old books may be becoming a lost art.

There is certainly an atmosphere that can only be found in an old library like this. I love the aura of the old books, the smells of leather and parchment, quiet except for the faint rustle of pages. But are old words, ancient words, more than simply an aesthetic? Are they more than just a feeling of nostalgia?

The real question is this: do we still care about the wisdom contained in old books? 

Whatever form they come in – crinkling old pages, bound in leather, or on a screen – there is truth to be found in old books.  The ancient words of Scripture are, of course, the greatest example. In Romans 15, Paul describes the Hebrew scriptures as a source of instruction – wisdom – that helps us to endure by the encouragement of these accounts of God’s people. These words have power not just because they are old, but because they are true: breathed out by God.

This year at Family of Christ, we are reading “The Story” – the account of God’s people, drawn from scripture. These words do not simply evoke a nostalgic mood: rather, they are words that are alive and active still. God’s story is our story too. Ancient words, enduring truth. Time spent in Scripture’s words brings hope.

Spend some time in God’s Word this week. Meditate on its stories. Chew on a familiar Psalm. Memorize a favorite verse.  Find in them the encouragement of hope – because they are words about The Word made flesh, the creative Word that shapes all reality, and who became flesh, dwelling near to us. Ancient, hopeful, enduring words that still instruct us, encourage us, so that we might have hope.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado