“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers, who received living words to give us, which our fathers did not listen to, but rejected. And they returned in their hearts to Egypt…” (Acts 7:38,39)
If we are honest, we will admit that we sometimes look back at the world from which we were liberated. Just as the people of Israel foolishly thought that once they were in the wilderness, their life in Egypt was better, so we might think that the difficulties of doing what is right are too difficult and that life was better when we just lived for a moment. It is a fact that there are many dangers and discomforts involved in getting free from slavery, whether the slavery is physical or spiritual. And we may think that although being a slave had its disadvantages, they were at least tolerable when compared with the more serious difficulties of freedom. And so our old “comfort zone” calls us. It’s tempting to give up the fight and walk away.
On one occasion, when Jesus was stressing to His disciples the need for decisive action, He said, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). In an attempt to escape the destruction of Sodom, Lot’s wife died, not because of going back but simply because of looking back.
On another occasion, Jesus said, “Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). If we look back at our work in the Lord and think that our lives were better before that work began, we show ourselves ungrateful and unworthy of the grace that has been given to us.
Does this mean that we should never think about our pre-Christian past? No, but it does mean that we must decisively reject that past and never give the thought of ever going back a chance to dominate our minds. To the extent that thinking about the past inspires us to serve God more faithfully, we should think about it. For example, when Paul thought about his past (1 Corinthians 15:9,10) he began to work harder as a evangelist. But if thinking about “Egypt” tempts us to go back there, even if it is just in our hearts, we must be determined not to do so. After all, it’s not backward Ahead That we are arriving.
“Knock out all your past except that which will help you to shape your tomorrow” (Sir William Osler).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
