If We Could Only Go Back

 

If we could only go back to....

If we could just return to...normal.

    ...to the way things used to be.

    ...to when things were easier.

    ...to when it was fun.

    ...to the glory days.

If we could only do that, then everything would be better. We think. Or at least better than things are now.

Have you found yourself saying that or at least thinking it? You're not alone.

The older we get, the more we have a distorted view of the past; because we are further and further removed from the actual details of the past. They get a little fuzzy. Perhaps we remember the feelings we used to feel and if we are currently not too excited about the way we feel now, the past inevitably just feels better.

So what do we do? 

We try to recreate the past.

We try to return to the way things were.

We get upset, angry, sad, frustrated, or numb to current circumstances.

We check out because it's not what it used to be.

We blame. 

In the ancient Jewish world, there was a fair amount of remembering. That's good. Remembering is good. They put up monuments for certain milestones. They wanted to remember specific moments where God's faithfulness was real and tangible.

However, they also had moments of wanting to return to the way things were, even though God desired to move them forward.

• They had it "better" in Egypt when they were slaves, even though God cared for them in the wilderness.
• When they desired a king, God gave them what they wanted and the human kings failed them.
• When they were exiled in Babylon for several generations and actually had the opportunity to return to Jerusalem, it wasn't everything for which they had hoped.
• When God provided the ultimate King in Jesus, but he wasn't a military warrior who would overthrow the Roman Empire, they crucified Him.
• Jesus eventually called his disciples to go outside of Jerusalem to move God's Kingdom beyond what they knew.

It's important to remember. It's good to remember God's faithfulness. It's good to look back and see how God moved in unique and powerful ways. It's even commanded by Jesus to remember His body and blood when we partake in a sacred meal that brings healing and forgiveness. But we are never called to return to the way things were.

• Healing and forgiveness are not a return to the way things were, but renewal for what could be.
• Jesus doesn't call us to stay safe and keep what's familiar; His Spirit compels us to go beyond what's comfortable. Into the new, or as Disney princess Elsa reminds us, "Into the unknown!"
• Even the entire arc of scripture moves from a garden (Genesis) to a city (Revelation).
• We don't go back to the Garden of Eden. We move from creation to new creation.
• We should also remember that returning to the way things were actually has deadly ramifications for many of our brothers and sisters.

But it's hard. New is hard. Unknown is ...well...unknown. That can bring fear and uncertainty. Returning to the way things were, though, that feels safe and familiar. Safe and familiar are not fruit of the Spirit. They are also not commands of Jesus. 

We must move into the new. We must expect change and transformation. We must remember God's faithfulness, not so that we can return to some feeling or circumstance of the past; but so that we might be propelled forward into uncharted territory. 

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