Looking in the rear-view mirror?

A few days ago, I found myself singing an old song I learned in high school chorus (45 years ago!) - “Once upon a time the world was sweeter than we knew, Everything was ours, how happy we were then!”  Can you say, ‘nostalgia?’   Prayerfully, Bev and I were remembering blessings from our past, times of fruitful ministry, people from other times in our ministry whom we still love and who love us. We gave thanks for all that.  But, we can’t live there.

Attempting to navigate life now while staring into the rear-view mirror is a sure way to crash!  We will miss the opportunities exist today if we spend too much time remembering the happiness of another time. Memory is highly selective. We all rewrite history to fit our perceptions, our needs. So, as we remember the 'good old days,' we tend to forget the difficulties and recall the moments of joy. Try to remember what you were experiencing 20 years ago today. Unless you’re one of those extremely rare people with perfect recall, the stuff you were dealing with then is forgotten. You only recall the big moments - birthday celebrations, Christmas, family vacations; or deaths, divorce, or disaster. The ordinary stuff that fills our days- including the broken appliances, frustrations, arguments, shared dinners, sweet caresses - have disappeared into the mist of memory recalled only with great effort!

Has the trap of nostalgia taken over your relationship with the Lord? Are you bemoaning the state of the church, criticizing the youth program, or long for the preaching of some pastor you knew years ago?  "It's not the way it used to be."  Of course it isn’t! Change is inevitable!  Christians who stop growing and learning fall into a rut that soon becomes a grave!  So, too, with churches that fall in love with tradition. Over time, those once vibrant fellowships will become ingrown, inbred, and irrelevant.  You may be thinking, "But, Jerry, Christianity is ancient. Traditions are important."   Yes, it is true. The Bible assures us that "Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever." The celebrations of Communion, baptism, and holy days in our calendar are valuable traditions that preserve continuity in the Christian community.  There is change that is just novelty, too.  It’s not about marrying the eternal Gospel to the present world. It is change for change’s sake, a vain attempt to capture the attention of the bored people in the church.

How the Gospel is communicated; the ways that we worship, the methods we use to observe the traditions and rites of our faith - will all change over time. Songs that moved us, that shaped our expressions, will be replaced by the songs of new artists who are expressing their love for Christ with new rhythms and melodies. Preachers whose methods were inspired by the Spirit for a generation will pass on to their reward.  New servants will emerge bringing innovative ways to share the authentic Message of Christ.

Let’s make it personal before closing this thought today. Are you missing out on what God wants to do in your life TODAY?

Do you fondly remember a decade when God seemed so close to you? Rejoice in that! Don't try to erase yesterday.  Great memories strengthen bonds bringing families, churches, and even nations together.  We learn from the terrible memories of poor choices, sinful decisions, or simple folly!   But, we must not sing ‘once upon a time,’ too fondly, so as to miss God’s work, right here, right now!  Pray that the Spirit will renew your vision.  Give thanks for this day. If you think the Church has gone a little 'off the rails,' pray for those who lead, asking the Spirit to make His Presence known - and be ready for God to do a new thing - in you, in your church, in this world! Consider Jesus' parable - “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be torn, and the patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins." (Luke 5:36-37, NLT)

Here’s a word from the Word. Do you know what time it is?

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, NIV)

_____________

This Is The Day

This is the day,

This is the day,

That the Lord hath made,

That the Lord hath made!

We will rejoice,

We will rejoice,

And be glad in it,

And be glad in it!

This is the day,

That the Lord hath made!

We will rejoice and be glad in it!

This is the day,

This is the day,

That the Lord hath made.

Les Garrett

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