Old Time Religion

Rachel and I are on vacation this week and we spent yesterday and today with my grandparents. They are the epitome of “old timey” folks. Papa is a Free Will Baptist preacher and granny is still the most dedicated housewife I have ever seen, all this while being in “the ministry” as well. They are both what I might label as fundamentalists when it comes to their religious views. As you may know I am not really a fan of fundamentalism to say the least, but I re-realized something last night while talking to my grandparents. They love the same God, Three-in-One, that I do.

They may be dealing with which translation of the bible should be using and have some political beliefs that I will never fully comprehend and they may talk about hell, fire and brimstone a bit too much, but if people are to be judged by the fruits that they bear, then my grandparents are certainly dedicated followers of Jesus.

Granny and Papa have sacrificed their entire lives for the good of others. Even this week they are going to visit sick members of the church. They open up their home to anyone who has need, and have had to pay the price for their generosity more than once. So when I ask myself if they have the fruits of the Spirit it looks like this:

• Love- Yes!
• Joy- Tons!
• Peace- Like a river
• Patience- Yes, well most of the time
• Kindness- Oh yeah
• Goodness- Absolutely
• Gentleness- Yep
• Self-control- Indeed

So if you know a tree by its fruit then they are clearly growing in, for and because of Jesus.

Grandpa made a simple plea to me and I pass it on to you. He said that he knows that things are changing, in fact he used the term “new timey,” and that the church is being re-envisioned yet again, but he asked that we wouldn’t forget about the “old timey” folks. They have dedicated decades to the cause of Christ and even though we see some mistakes and we change to reach the changing culture around us, we cant just forget their needs, ignore their wisdom, or forsake their friendship.

One more thing. There is a lot to learn from old time religion. The grave consequences of sin, respect for tradition, and a longing for heaven are all things I have taken away from this old time religion.

As we move forward let us make sure to look back at the great cloud of witnesses that came before us and learn from them and let us not forget to make sure to bring the old time religion folks with us as we continue to run the race laid out before us. 

Explore posts in the same categories: Christianity, God, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Religion, belief, bible, church, faith, life

Tags: Free Will Baptist, Fruits of the Spirit, Old Time Religion, sin, Tradition

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