Pass
it On
What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Bill took his time as he showed his
grandson, Nelson, how to position the crippler for the closet door
header in the wall they were building. “Leave three and a half
inches at the top of each crippler, Nelson. That will allow us to
insert the header,” he explained.
“You know everything about building
houses Gramps!” Nelson said in admiration. “Did you figure it out
all by yourself?” he asked.
Bill smiled at the nine year old’s
question. “No, Buddy,” he admitted. “My dad started my
construction education when I was about your age. As a matter of
fact, he gave me that very hammer you’re using.” With a note of
ceremony in his voice, Bill said, “And now I’m giving it to you.”
Looking at the hammer with a sense of
reverence, Nelson said, “Wow! Thanks, Gramps! I promise to take
good care of it!”
“Let me give you one bit of advice,
Nelson,” he said. “Never tire of learning and always remember
there are different ways to do almost every task. Those who love
carpentry have invested time in learning the trade. Learn all you can
from them. Then use what you’ve learned to create works of art, and
look to pass it on to future generations.”
†
Solomon, in today’s text, assures us
that mankind is repetitive in nature; nothing we do is being done for
the first time. Although individual accomplishments might differ from
generation to generation, the underlying knowledge of the why and how
of the world has been understood for centuries. Hence, what we do
today has been done before.
This is not to dismiss or minimize our
efforts. On the contrary, we should strive to fine tune those things
that we’ve been doing for millennia.
Legendary UCLA Basketball coach, John
Wooden, said, “You’ll never know anything you didn’t learn from
someone else.” Our goal should be to devote ourselves to learning
whatever God has equipped us for so we can do the best job possible,
and then we will be in a position to pass on what we have learned.
Prayer
“Everything I can do is
because of You, Lord. Give me opportunity to pass along all You have
taught me to future generations. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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