“Learn Something Old Every Day”
Yesterday I wrote about Ray and me learning something new. Mister Rogers, on the other hand, encouraged his audience to learn something old everyday. Learning something new and learning something old are both worthy goals. Jesus once said:
“Therefore every scribe
who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven
is like a head of a household,
who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”
Matthew 13:52b
When Jesus came to earth, He fulfilled prophecies spoken long before He was born:
“These are My words
which I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that all the things that are written about Me
in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms
must be fulfilled.”
Luke 24:44
Jesus fulfilled the old, but He brought new. At the Last Supper, He spoke of the new covenant. In John 13, He gave a new commandment.
“I am giving you a new commandment,
that you love one another;
just as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.”
John 13:34
Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth about old things that had passed away and new things that had come.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ,
this person is a new creation;
the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Christians walk in newness of life.
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father,
so we too may walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:4
Christians look forward to new heavens and a new earth.
But according to His promise
we are looking for new heavens and a new earth,
in which righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3:13
It is important to teach our children the difference between old and new and the value of each. Now, almost 2,000 years after Jesus died on the cross, we still obey Jesus’ new commandment. We still become new creations. We still walk in newness of life. We still look forward to new heavens and a new earth.
However, we learn these truths from God’s Word, a very old book that continues to be:
. . . living and active,
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit,
of both joints and marrow,
and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12b
So, back to what Mister Rogers said . . .
We do need to “learn something old every day.” It’s one thing to hear something old, but quite another to learn something old. In some ways, learning something old requires humility. Really taking something old into our minds and hearts is an admission that a truth from the past is something we need. Learning something old is an admission that I don’t have to figure out all the answers I need by myself. Sometimes learning something old is an admission that I can’t.
Like you, I’ve seen the word new written in bold letters with colorful type and an eye-catching border again and again in advertisements for product after product. I’m pretty confident that I have never seen an ad with the word old designed in the same way. It’s hard to imagine that, isn’t it? It’s fine for us to learn many of the things that are new and to enjoy many things that are new, but we must be sure that those new things are not in conflict with the old things God said long, long ago. Mister Rogers was right. We do need to learn something old every day.
. . . you are fellow citizens with the saints,
and are of God’s household,
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone . . .
Ephesians 2:19b-20
