This world is like an old, worn out rag. My dad told us many years ago that in the Old English the word WORLD is derived from two words, wear and old. Maybe that is why there’s growing concern about preserving the planet.
Life cycle of a rag
I pulled an old, stained rag out of my stew the other day, and dumped it in the garbage. No longer could I trust it to keep the packet of herbs separate from the food we eat, or the boiled pumpkin from bursting it open when I strained it.
Its usefulness was over.
The rag had started out as a fine cotton handkerchief, which I purchased in a package of 6 for $2.99 (using a $10-off coupon). It’s possible it came to our home before our grandchildren’s daddy more than 35 years ago. Some historically significant memories have already been archived, you see.
When it had received its first, unremovable stains, it graduated to the back pocket of my husband’s overalls, keeping company with the sawmill’s dust. Over time it became even too dingy for that humble office, and landed in my kitchen rag drawer.
Life cycle of a world
“In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you” (Psalm 102:25-28 NIV).
Some day the world as we know it will be tossed away, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth that will not wear out. We will live with him forever, unstained.
by Kathy Sheldon Davis
kathysheldondavis.com 