my Jesus wears flannel

I ended my last post with the statement:

"I think that even the old can be new in some instances."

So many examples fall within this truth:

• Scripture.
• the Triune God.
• the local church.
• flannel shirts with pearl button down snaps. (wearing one as I type this.)

Why do these "old" things always seem to retain their newness?  Why do they always seem to have relevance and exert their influence on generation after generation?

Because they touch on something that is alive.

Of course, it was a little irreverent to include flannel shirts in that list.  I'm not saying that they are on the same level as the other three.  (Let's have a sense of humor here, people.)  But I think the same principle is at work.  I think they remain "new" for the same reason as the other three.

No, not that Jesus is a flannel shirt wearer.

But that the spirit of the flannel shirt is very much alive.  Though it went from function to fashion - most of us don't wear them any longer to keep us warm or to aid in the wrangling of cattle - we still like the comfortable look and feel, and like the image it projects.  As cheesy as it sounds: the flannel connects its wearer to something that is alive and well in our culture today.

Just like the Spirit that inspired Scripture and works through the local church is very much alive, and makes us alive as we connect with him.

The old can be new if the old is still alive, or connects us to something that is still alive.  If the old exists outside of a fond memory of days when we used to feel alive.  If the old is more than just nostalgia, a fuzzy feeling, or the longing for days gone by.  If the old resonates and is embraced across culture, time, and generation.

These are the songs like Amazing Grace.

These are the rituals like Communion.

These are the things that connect you to something or Someone who is alive, who makes your spirit alive as you are connected to them.

We aren't just on a quest for the new only, or new for newness' sake.  

We are on a quest to be connected to that which is alive.

So explore some old paths, some old ways, and see if something new doesn't grow up in you.  

You might be pleasantly surprised at what you discover... or Who discovers you.