Tradition

Charles Dickens once said, “Tradition is the foundation of all that is good in the world.” While he may have overstated the importance of tradition just slightly, Dickens was correct in observing the quintessential role that tradition plays in our lives. Many of our traditions are woven around this time of year, often affecting the way we decorate, what we bake, when we gather and the food we share together. Some of our traditions have a religious or familial origin, while some may have a history that is wholly unknown to us. Over time traditions can be merged as families blend and some fall by the wayside, but many live on from generation to generation.

There is comfort in tradition, a calm familiarity, a small sense, however fleeting, that we can predict and control some aspect of our lives by doing the same things annually in the same way. However, each year is very different. We put the tree in the same place and decorate it, but it’s not exactly the same. There are a few new ornaments each year and a few old ones that were broken by the cat or the kids last year. We make the same cookies, but they are slightly different than last year. The weather is different. Our health may be different. A cancer or other diagnosis can change everything all at once in a flash. Loved ones pass away and new family members are born. The tradition continues, but change is inevitable. No matter how hard we try, time passes and things change.

Thankfully there is one thing that does remain the same, Jesus. The heart and core of why this and other seasons exist remains unchanged. His immutable nature transcends any and all tradition and is in fact the only thing that is truly timeless. How incomprehensible it is that the one and only thing that can not be altered by space, time, illness, sin, and even death is the Savior who created us and all that we are and know and experience. While there is temporary comfort and joy in the traditions we share, eternal hope and peace are only found in Christ.

“We put our hope in the LORD.

He is our help and our shield

In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD,

for our hope is in you alone.”

Psalm 33:20-22

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