Linsey-Woolsey Faith

March 2

In the days before there were so many synthetic fabrics, materials made from plastic and who-knows-what-else, there was a cloth noted for its durability as well as for its comfort. It was a composition of a linen warp and a woolen weft, two natural fibers, one made from a plant and one from an animal source.

It was called linsey-woolsey and was the miracle fabric of its day. Things from durable military uniforms to quilts were fashioned using this cloth that afforded warmth and comfort to the user. Sometimes the combination of two quite different entities can produce something that is an improvement over nature, but often, that is not the case.

Often the hybrid product is inferior and sometimes it produces side effects that are highly undesirable. That is why such materials are fully tested in laboratories before being presented to the public. Nobody wants to discover unpleasant surprises in the items upon which he has expended significant amounts of money. Nobody wants to content himself with materials which prove with use to be entirely undesirable.

We are admonished in the spiritual realm to be cautious of attempting to blend the things of the world with the things of faith. Paul says in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind …to God’s perfect will.” We should not content ourselves with a ‘linsey-woolsey faith’ of time blended with eternity. We want our faith to be made of the fabric of heaven’s truth.