The Way Things Used to Be

Longing for the way things used to be makes one guilty of living in the past.  It is also a world view that is looked upon with a measure of disdain.  The way things used to be is not regarded as something which will help us deal with the present, or get us into the future.  Of course, something Jeremiah said to his beleaguered countrymen throws a kink in present day disregard for the way things used to be.  We hear that word in Jeremiah 6:16 where the Lord speaks saying, "Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls."      

Instead of pointing the people toward some national strategy for deliverance from approaching enemies, or to stockpile more weapons and food, he points them toward their past.  It is an important past.  The fact that they have moved away from that past is the reason the find themselves in an untenable present predicament.  Their help is not in something new to be learned, but in something old to be remembered.  

It truly seems no different in our day.  So much of the troubles facing our nation, our church, and our own sense of well being come from the fact that we have either forgotten the ancient paths once walked, or we no longer regard what can be learned from them as having any value for day to day living.  The way things used to be, the traditional values that have gotten us this far, things like the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount,  a more church centered community, and faith in the Creator God are things which when remembered and embraced will surely take us to the good way where our souls can find the peace that has been lost.