“Do not remove the ancient landmark,Nor enter the fields of the fatherless.”
— Proverbs 23:10 (NKJV)
Moving into a new season doesn’t require abandoning every old one.
Some things are meant to be left behind.
Others are meant to be carried forward.
The wisdom is knowing the difference.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve spent a great deal of time packing boxes, sorting through memories, and preparing for a new chapter of life. Along the way, I’ve found myself asking a question that reaches far beyond moving from one house to another.
What do I carry with me… and what do I leave behind?
That question isn’t just practical.
It’s deeply spiritual.
Recently, I read a reflection from someone remembering her Pentecostal childhood. She described old church pews, crowded altars, saints praying through tears, late-night prayer meetings, and worship that came from sincere hearts. She admitted that not everything from those years was perfect, but neither was everything broken.
One phrase stayed with me.
“I hear echoes.”
I understand exactly what she meant.
I hear them too.
I can still hear my childhood pastor, Rev. E. G. Bass, preaching messages that shaped my life. One message, in particular, has stayed with me for more than forty years.
“Forsake Not the Ancient Landmarks.”
His text came from Proverbs 23:10.
As a teenager, I understood the words.
As an adult, I understand their weight.
In Solomon’s day, ancient landmarks were the equivalent of today’s land survey markers. They identified the boundaries of a family’s inheritance. They weren’t placed casually, nor were they moved on a whim.
To move one wasn’t merely dishonest.
It was an attempt to redefine what God had already assigned.
When Israel entered the Promised Land, it was God who determined each tribe’s inheritance. Those boundary markers testified to His provision and His authority. To move one was not only stealing from a neighbor—it was disregarding the boundaries God Himself had established.
Spiritually, every generation faces a similar temptation.
Not necessarily to reject God.
But to quietly move the landmarks He established.
That’s an important distinction.
Because not everything old is a landmark.
Traditions are not landmarks.
Preferences are not landmarks.
Methods are not landmarks.
Buildings are not landmarks.
Styles of worship are not landmarks.
Every generation changes those things.
The landmarks are different.
The landmarks are the truths God Himself established.
The authority of His Word.
Repentance.
Faith in Jesus Christ.
The new birth.
Prayer.
Holiness.
The work of the Holy Spirit.
Love for one another.
Bearing one another’s burdens.
Making disciples.
These aren’t relics from another generation.
They aren’t denominational distinctives.
They are the boundaries God has given His people for every generation.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us just how essential one of those landmarks truly is.
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”
— Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV)
Holiness isn’t a relic of a previous generation.
It is the lifelong pursuit of every believer who desires to see Christ.
Sometimes I think we’ve confused the landmarks with the scenery.
We say we miss the wooden pews…
when what we really miss is the sincerity of the people who knelt beside them.
We talk about how we don’t sing the old songs anymore…
when what we really miss is hearts that worshiped without concern for appearances.
We long for the crowded altars…
when what we really miss is a generation that believed God still hears and answers prayer.
The scenery changes.
It always has.
The landmarks don’t.
And they shouldn’t.
Today, we don’t usually move stones.
We move definitions.
We redefine repentance.
We redefine holiness.
We redefine sin.
We redefine marriage.
We redefine the gospel.
The boundary hasn’t been erased.
It’s simply been relocated.
That is exactly what Proverbs warns us against.
Jeremiah echoed the same truth centuries later.
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.’”
— Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)
Notice what God said.
He didn’t tell them to ask for the old days.
He told them to ask for the old paths.
God has never called His people to live in the past.
But He has always called them to walk the path He established.
As Christians, we should never be afraid of new technology, new opportunities, or new seasons of life.
But we should be very careful about moving the landmarks.
Every generation inherits two things.
The landmarks God established…
and the traditions people built around them.
Wisdom is knowing the difference.
As I continue moving into a new season of life, I’ve realized something.
The house may change.
The address may change.
The season may change.
Even the scenery may change.
But the landmarks remain exactly where God placed them.
And that’s where I intend to build.
The scenery may change…
but the landmarks still point the way home.
The Way Forward
Every generation must decide whether it will preserve the landmarks or move them.
The Church doesn’t need to recreate another era.
It needs to remain anchored to the truths God established.
Don’t spend your life trying to recreate yesterday.
Walk the ancient paths that have always led people to Christ.
Because when the scenery changes—and it always will—the landmarks are what keep us from losing our way.
