OLD, BUT A TREASURE!
I love to haunt thrift shops! Sometimes I discover a book long out of print that still boasts words of wisdom on its pages. What a find that is! Often, there is a kitchen accessory or gadget waiting to fit my needs perfectly. When it's something from a generation or two back and well-made---a classic no longer being produced---it's even more gratifying to give it a good home and put it to loving use.
A thrift store sometimes yields up a gem at times unexpected. I never know when or if I'll find anything that fills a need in my life. Such was the case yesterday when I meandered through one of my favorite thrifts and saw it hanging on a rack in plain sight, a handbag of vintage design. The fabric was of good quality, but the woven pattern was quite dated. The top closure relied on wooden staves through which was threaded the unique matching fabric strap. Very fashionable in a previous day.
I was going to pass it by, but decided to look inside the bag. In one of the several pockets sewn into the lining was an embroidered label with the name and phone number of the woman who had crafted the bag in her sewing room. It was a work of art!
The machine stitching was even and straight. The construction throughout bespoke an artisan had made it. I had to buy it. Not because I intend to carry it, but because I appreciate the time and effort the woman invested into making this purse beautiful and functional for its owner. Though its true value is incalculable, I paid just a few dollars for it because the shop probably held little hope of selling it at all. I knew it would be perfect for carrying my current knitting project and I'll bear it proudly!
The label's area code indicated where the seamstress lived, so I typed her name into a search engine with the appropriate city. Up came a website for a funeral home with her obituary from 10 years ago! She had died at 80 years of age, leaving behind a family and grandkids. Sure enough, among the highlights cited about this woman's life was her delight in featuring her handmade bags for sale at area craft fairs. In fact, she had been lovingly dubbed "The Bag Lady!"
Today, I hold history in my hands. It is not an assembly-line production so common to this day and age. It is at least 30 to 40 years old, craftsmanship from an era that appreciated doing something carefully and well, regardless of how long it took and what it demanded of its creator. Words like quality, durability, and style fit the bill back then.
While there's no comparison in value, my thinking is directed to consider the things of God and His design for the salvation of lost and condemned humanity. Even before the onset of time, God planned for sinners to be brought into fellowship with Him through the sacrifice of His Son on their behalf.
It is a plan carefully, painstakingly fulfilled to the letter! Every detail is perfect and complete. Yet, today it is deemed out-of-date and out-of-step with today's current technology and scientific abilities.
For the one who pauses to take a second look at who God is and what He has done comes a revelation of the One who created this plan of salvation and an appreciation for His handiwork all around us!
To the individual who takes a look inside, who bothers to inquire and seek out more, God reveals His label of ownership and creativity. He uncovers the uniqueness of His plan, the only way to know Him and to possess His gift of eternal life.
It may be an old plan, dating from antiquity, but it isn't shopworn or threadbare. It is fresh and vibrant, waiting for the person who will invest their everything to discover its meaning and significance...and their own salvation!
Unlike the woman who cut and sewed my purse but finally died, God is eternal, the same yesterday, today and forever. He is Life itself and the Giver of eternal life to those who believe and trust in Him through Jesus. His plan never changes! It is the ONLY way to God--through Jesus, His Beloved Son.
Modern man thinks he's clever in repulsing all that God has revealed to us of Himself and His redemptive work. Problem is, man replaces God with the works of his own hands that, just like my purse, are fallible and corruptible in their composition. They lead their adherents to hell. God is pure and eternal. Man's plans are built on false premises, but God is truth in Himself.
Man has lifted himself to be god in his own right. No need for the rules and tenets of holy behavior and faith that belong to God, their Creator. Man presses on to create his own universe not just by ignoring, but by destroying the plans God has for every person born into this world. Moreover, man believes he is winning and succeeding. Little does he realize or understand that God has said in His infallible word:
On the cross as He was dying, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing." His words are still true. If people today only realized the horrific mistake they are making by throwing over God for their own schemes and actions, they would repent immediately and seek His forgiveness. Little do they understand that their deeds are condemning them moment by moment and paving the way to eternal suffering and torment in the lake of fire that burns forever and ever. If only they realized....