There seem to be a great many sayings about looking backward, hind sight, and all of that. As New Years approaches, that seems to be the direction that receives a lot of attention. New Years Resolutions, ideas for what can be in the coming year becomes the focus. So, with all of that discussion, I started wondering if there were any direction of looking forward or back through life. I stumbled on a couple of verses in 2 Peter and thought that they were kind of interesting.
2 Peter 3:2 says “I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.” To recall, to look back. It’s like looking into the year’s rear view mirror. Recall the words, think about the commands that were given. There seems to be a time and place to look back. Then I noticed that in looking back, it wasn’t just a random direction. It was a specific place to look back to, not being lost in memory but with purpose. When I look back, I can look with regrets of might have been or could have been. Or, I can look back at was set in motion for a purpose, and a good one at that.
Now, I can’t always be looking backwards. If I do, I’m going to run into something. It would be like trying to drive forward by looking through the rearview mirror – not much help! So, we drop down to 2 Peter 3:13 and “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” Looking forward to something wonderful and new is the direction. Think of the excitement and anticipation that is built as you look forward to something wonderful! And by looking forward, you are moving towards it.
So, I guess I get to look backwards and forwards – with purpose and anticipation.
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