There are things about the past worth remembering. What is it we say of those who don’t study history? They are destined to repeat it! The Bible frequently counsels us to remember the faithfulness of God in the lives of faith’s heroes, and in our own. “I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your works of old.” (Psalm 77:11) A prodigal son’s memory of home saved him from death in a pigsty. And what did Jesus say about the bread and the wine? “Do this in remembrance of me.” But learning from the past and holding to certain memories with appropriate gratitude is quite different from a crippling remorse or a paralysis rooted in fears from the past or even the sentimental longing for a past that never was.

A 100-year old time capsule from a high school in the state of Washington was opened in 2000 with high expectations. State dignitaries assembled with school officials to open “a window to the past” when the capsule was removed from the cornerstone laid in 1900 at the Washington HS in Seattle. Here is the headline showing the group’s disappointment when the Washington Post reported the story: “Opened Time Capsule Turns Up Crud.” All the photos, newspapers, and other items had turned to a gooey unrecognizable mess.

I’m often amazed at people who waste time longing for “the good old days.” Which days were they? The pre-indoor plumbing days of a hundred years ago? The days of the riots in the 1960’s? The days of the Civil War, two World Wars, Viet Nam or Korean War? The days before the last 50 or 60 years of medical advances that have saved so many lives? Could they mean the pristine days of Jesus and the earliest church? But people hated, lied about, and murdered Jesus! And heresy, immorality, and division plagued the first-generation church. Should we be inclined to long for those good old days?

Living in a rearview mirror creates a distorted view of reality. The idea that people were happier, work was more virtuous, Christians were more spiritual, or families were happier is simply a myth. For people whose lives are centered in Christ, the best days are always those that are yet to come. Living in the past, on the other hand, puts a limit on today’s opportunities and tomorrow’s blessings. So resist the temptation to long for what once was. Pray instead to live in hope, walk by faith, and rejoice in God’s promises for the future. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NLT)

R. Boswell

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