Where To Look

Baseball player Satchel Paige once said in jest, "Don't look back, something may be gaining on you" In contrast, George Santayana, a Spanish-born American author said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"

Do we move on, never looking back, or do we learn from our past mistakes to avoid making them again?  The Bible seems to tell us that we should do a little of both. We do need to think back on our lives and learn from our mistakes. That’s part of the process when we confess our sins and asking God for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Leading us to think about it long enough and then choose to “go and sin no more”  (John 8:11).  Forgiveness is God’s way of clearing the slate, but it’s up to us to avoid repeating the errors of our past. Look at  the apostle Paul, he looked at his mistakes from  his past  and then focused on becoming more like Christ each day (Philippians 3:13-14).

So, is it best for us to look back or to look ahead? We would be wise to do a little of both: We need to look back when comes to forgiveness, then look ahead, focusing on Christ and for future spiritual growth in his kingdom.  Todd