Americans, by a wide majority, say that they think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Energy prices, which rose sharply in the last year, are forcing real change on us and threaten the stability of our national economy. We're in two wars that are dragging on, costing us a fortune, and that have no end in sight. Our politicians are so partisan that the big challenges of the country are not being addressed. Housing values have gone down; the credit bubble burst. "Oh, what now?" is the frequently heard despairing cry!
David McCullough, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian, says that part of the national despair is rooted in ignorance of history! The last 25 years have been a time of great prosperity and growth. An entire generation has 'pushed history to the back burner... even off the stove.' Lacking a context in which to evaluate the present difficulties many Americans conclude that 'no one has ever lived in more difficult times.' Another historian, David Boorstein, points to the value of history as a teacher for the future saying, "Trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past, is like trying to plant cut flowers!" (Parade, 6/22/2008)
Believer, we need history, too! The testimonies of faith that come from those who have gone before us reminds us of the faithfulness of God and teaches about wise choices, too. Writing about the Old Testament stories of God's people, Paul says: "These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. ... No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it." (1 Corinthians 10:11, 13, The Message)
Knowing the stories of the Bible is important, a foundation for living today! Reading the stories of great Christians, both of other eras and from our own time, builds faith and teaches us how to live. If we realize that we are part of a long story of faith, one spanning many generations, we are protected from the conceit that can blind us equally to our perils and our possibilities! We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us - whether we know it or not. If we take lessons from them, if we refine their wisdom and learn from their mistakes and their successes, we will live better and more hopeful lives.
Here's a passage from the Word to contemplate today. It speaks of a time when God's people had come to a mistaken conclusion about Him, because they did not remember. When their mistake was pointed out, their response is interesting. May the Lord bless His Word to you.
"Your words have been harsh against Me," says the Lord, yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free.’
"Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.
"They shall be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." (Malachi 3:13-17, NKJV) _____________
TFTD will return on Monday, 6/30, God-willing. I am taking time to renew and refresh. See you next week!
