It has been said and repeated, that the only difference between men and
boys is the price of their toys. But I would also add the age, which can
influence the price, which directly may effect the value. And the memories.
When I was growing up, the neighborhood was filled with Ford F150 pickups, 1957
vintage, my Dad had a 1952 Chevy coupe, and no one thought of them as old. They
were 3-5 years old and current. In elementary school Joey’s dad drove a 1960
Dodge Pioneer, his wife a 1964 1/2 Mustang, Scott’s parents a 1964 Chrysler 300,
and the only old car was Kenny’s parents three tone 1955 Dodge. My parents were
driving Rambler Americans, a 1962 wagon and then a 1964 sedan. A few years
earlier they had bought a 1950 Ford coupe for $50 to take me to school, that was
old. But ask my kids today what was old for them and the answer would be cars
from the late seventies and early eighties. The cars we drove, which ought to
make some of us feel old, hopefully just older. But it seems that when we come
on the scene describes new, and only looking back do we know that the cars we
consider old now were that new car we prized back then and with an air of
driving a new car to impress the neighbors. Looking back at cars made after I
was born somehow I don’t consider them old, they must be from before my birth to
be considered old, and I have owned two old cars by my definition, a 1949 Ford
F-3 pickup, and a 1950 Buick Special 4 door. In my life I have filled six
decades, but have owned cars form eight decades. Suddenly I don’t feel so young
any more, but at least I don’t feel old either.....
Motorcycles from the seventies when I first started riding on the street
don’t seem old to me, but old Triumphs, Nortons, and BSA’s do. My 1972 CB350
wasn’t old then, and doesn’t seem old now, but to my younger friends it is an
old bike. A small older bike, back then 350cc was midrange, as how many of us
grew up or rode 50cc Hondas, or 175 Yamahas? Even Edward Turner of Bonneville
fame stated no more than 650 cc’s was not necessary, today their smallest bike
is 800cc, and a Bonneville can be 1200cc, the size of a Harley 74, a big bike
years ago. So what is old and what is big?
Ask any investigator when interviewing a witness and it is what you saw and
when you saw it. Like coming into a movie midway through it, you don’t know the
players or the plot. And asking will only get you politely, at least at first
to shut up. Ecclesiastes tells us “there is nothing new under the sun.” What
is now, has been seen before, and although it may be new to you, it is not new
to others. I love talking with new Christians who are all excited about Jesus,
who is new to them and everything a new adventure. Maybe a recipe for us old
fart Christians who think we have seen it all and know it all. Through their
eyes we see Jesus all over again, with a vitality that life can steal from us,
while we are just living it. Where as they progress from being saved by faith,
to walking in obedience, and then finally living a life of trust in the spirit,
the age and mature. Maturity is an interesting word, for when you mature you do
not grow anymore, and death follows. Maybe that is why the new in Christ have
so much energy, while old saints just look forward to heaven. And maybe why my
old memories of old cars and old motorcycles when they were new and I was
younger are so fresh.
We may be older, but not used up, and we have a responsibility to the
youth. Noah was 480 years old when God commissioned him to build the ark, 600
when he saw his first rain. Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran, and
100 years old when he entered parenthood, Sarah 90. Methusalah was 969 years
old and not on social security. Something inside these saints of old kept them
young, Isaac being old and full of days, was buried by Jacob and Esau. So what
defines old to you?
God numbers our days and we don’t know when the end will come. For Dennis
Wilson old was 39, when he died. For George Burns and Bob Hope, both lived to
be over 100, that’s old. So maybe it isn’t the amount of time, but how you use
it and how you have Jesus in that time that matters. Looking back I was 21 when
saved, and I feel as young in the Lord sometimes as I did then. I liked the
R90S I rode then but wouldn’t want it for everyday riding. Just like my 1978 GS1000 was for old bike shows, it was new once, but old when I got it, a 30 year old bike with a 35 year old Christian. Don’t ask what that is in dog years....But I am reminded that Jesus is contemporary, he is new and exiting to each generation and each new believer. We get old, his gospel never does, nor does his love and forgiveness. We listen to old gospel songs, that desire that old time religion, because it was good enough for me, but Jesus knows us, and what we need based on us and supplies it. Long before we ask, he has ordered our steps, and unlike ordering a new car, he supplies all the options and accessories we need as standard. So a God older than you is much different than a car older than you. Jesus is fresh and new everyday, his spirit giving new life, and inspiring our great faithfulness in him. To those just saved by faith, the obedience and trusting testimonies are exciting to them, just as the new walk in faith inspires us. So young men listen to the older men and their tales, but older men listen to the younger too. We were there once, and not so much a bad place to return to, but one to get back to basics. I was young once, but now I am old. I wouldn’t want to be young again with what I know, but I can feel young by who I know and who I am in Christ. Let the old man die, put on the new in Jesus, and grow in grace, measured by the years. Out of 380 times the word old is used in the King James version, in 346 verses, only 50 times it is used in the New Testament. Maybe that scripture about being a new creature in Christ means more than I think. Old in grace, new in the Lord. No matter what you drive or how you remember it, Jesus is the way. Remember 1 John tells us:”Brethren I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word you have heard from the beginning.” In the beginning God...sent his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. We are all children compared to eternity.....if only our cars lasted that long.
R90S I rode then but wouldn’t want it for everyday riding. Just like my 1978 GS1000 was for old bike shows, it was new once, but old when I got it, a 30 year old bike with a 35 year old Christian. Don’t ask what that is in dog years....But I am reminded that Jesus is contemporary, he is new and exiting to each generation and each new believer. We get old, his gospel never does, nor does his love and forgiveness. We listen to old gospel songs, that desire that old time religion, because it was good enough for me, but Jesus knows us, and what we need based on us and supplies it. Long before we ask, he has ordered our steps, and unlike ordering a new car, he supplies all the options and accessories we need as standard. So a God older than you is much different than a car older than you. Jesus is fresh and new everyday, his spirit giving new life, and inspiring our great faithfulness in him. To those just saved by faith, the obedience and trusting testimonies are exciting to them, just as the new walk in faith inspires us. So young men listen to the older men and their tales, but older men listen to the younger too. We were there once, and not so much a bad place to return to, but one to get back to basics. I was young once, but now I am old. I wouldn’t want to be young again with what I know, but I can feel young by who I know and who I am in Christ. Let the old man die, put on the new in Jesus, and grow in grace, measured by the years. Out of 380 times the word old is used in the King James version, in 346 verses, only 50 times it is used in the New Testament. Maybe that scripture about being a new creature in Christ means more than I think. Old in grace, new in the Lord. No matter what you drive or how you remember it, Jesus is the way. Remember 1 John tells us:”Brethren I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word you have heard from the beginning.” In the beginning God...sent his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. We are all children compared to eternity.....if only our cars lasted that long.
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com