Beautiful Words Blog | Where We've Been By Pastor John Moropoulos | Gateway Christian Fellowship

Text: Hebrews 13.7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Thesis: It’s just as important to look back as it is to look forward

I think it’s fair to say we are a forward-looking people. Maybe because our nation is still young, we carry a “best days are ahead” mentality. We look to the future, talk about the future, and plan for the future. Just think about all the ads we see that warn us of the importance of “planning for the future.”

There is nothing wrong with planning for the future. I think Scripture teaches us to do so. St. Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church, On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come, assumes a future that the Corinthian believers must be prepared for. So we need to make reasonable plans for our future.

But it is also exceedingly important that we look back, too. Sometimes, knowing where one has been is as important as knowing where one is going, or at least where one wants to go.

Sailors know this from experience. Even as the pilot of a vessel looks ahead, their eyes are looking back. There are some important reasons for this.

First, looking back gives a sailor a good picture of the influences of wind and current on the vessel. Even if the ship is always pointed at where one wants to go, if there is a strong cross current, then the vessel may be moving sideways as much as forward. If one only looks forward, this may not be evident. But looking back, one knows it immediately.

Let’s say you are headed from a boat harbor with a light at its entrance to an island with a high peak right in the middle. There is a beautiful beach directly below the mountain that you plan to enjoy for the day. If your focus is only on the mountain, then currents and wind may be carrying you away from the very place you are headed. Try as you might, you never get any closer, even though you have been travelling toward the peak all day.

A single glance back will tell you what has been happening. If you look back, and the harbor you left is no longer behind you, you’ve been experiencing some sideways movement. If your point of origin is way off to one side, then you have really been going sideways. Some corrective measures may be required.

Another benefit of looking back is that it gives you a very good picture of just how straight your steering has been. If you look back at your wake, and it looks like a snake, you need to mind your till or pay attention to your steering. Those little lapses in steering have left you wandering, and your crew probably hasn’t been enjoying those frequent course corrections you’ve been making.

The argument can even be made that looking back is more important than looking forward. Just ask any old salt who’s spent a lot of time in a rowboat. That requires a type of navigation based almost exclusively on where one has been.

The point is really simple. Where we have come from influences how we move forward. We all have things in our past that influence how we behave today. Knowing those things exist allows us to make the necessary course corrections moving forward. The things in my past do not dictate my actions, but I need to be aware of the influence they may have upon me.

Twice in Romans chapter six, Paul reminds the Roman believers that they “were slaves to sin…” Evidently, the great apostle wanted them to keep that in their rearview mirror. It’s as if Paul were saying, “Keep it in the rearview, and you’ll successfully sail away from it.”

I love new stuff. But remembering the old things has reward. Now I know that the apostle Paul also said to the church, "forgetting what is behind I press forward"…(Ph 3.7). It is important to see exactly what is being said there. Paul is not saying those things in his past no longer exist, only that they are no longer his focus. Forgetting the past, Paul presses forward. The key is keeping the past in the past. It doesn’t dictate my future. But remembering it helps me move forward toward the future God has planned for me.