Treasures Old and New

A while ago I obtained my father’s old lathe. I think that when he got it about 100 years ago it was already second-hand. So, it’s really old. But then I needed the correct lathe tools. This Christmas, generous gifts from my family (good quality tools aren’t cheap) mean that I can now take great pleasure in learning how to use it properly. I’m getting the hang of using the tools and have actually made a little wooden bowl. It’s made me so happy!

An old lathe, new tools – new treasures as well as old.

Jesus had been teaching by means of parables. His teaching used everything that God had revealed to Israel down through the centuries. It was ‘old treasures’. But He was using new tools to create something completely fresh. And He was showing His disciples how to use ‘the new tools’ with the ‘old equipment’.

I’ve so enjoyed making my little bowl. It’s not perfect. After all, it’s the first thing I’ve made with my new tools. When I showed it to Sue, apologising for the defects, she said, ‘Oh, it’s lovely! Would you give it to me?’ That made me even happier!

When we use our God-given tools for His Kingdom, what we produce will never be perfect. But, while He may gently show us how to do it better, when He sees it, He always says, ‘Oh, it’s lovely!’

I’ve been thinking about some of the people who first taught me about my new-found faith. That’s part of the ‘old treasure’. And then I think about the even older treasure, the Scriptures. I’ve decided to read through the whole Bible this year to reacquaint myself with all of it. As I go, I keep on finding things that I’d forgotten: old treasure, hidden in ‘the storeroom’.

And then there are the new things that I’ve learned and still am learning. Actually, whatever the new situation we encounter, God provides the tools, handing us an old one, or showing us a new one: a Bible verse, something someone said years ago, different way of explaining something, a fresh insight – all kinds of things. Just like when I’m turning wood on my lathe, a combination of old and new.

Every one of us is a disciple of the kingdom of heaven. We’ve all learned things that, whether it’s by what we say or by how we live, we can pass on to others. That makes each of us a teacher of the law. Come to think of it, as I reread the ‘law’ of Scripture, I’m teaching myself as well. I’m reminding myself of what I’ve known for years and forever seeing things that I’d never seen before – amazing! That’s treasure worth having.