Don't look back

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3: 13 – 14 

There can be a tendency when things are not going well to look back with wistful longing to the past, to happier times whether real or perceived and then try and re-live them to find happiness in our time of trouble.

There is of course a place to rejoice over happy memories or be inspired by things God has said or done in the past. I love to go back over my journal to encourage myself with things God has said, especially if I’m finding life tough. I also have a love affair with photos whether digital or hard copies. I can re-live with great pleasure past times and holidays.

The difficulty arises when that rejoicing and celebrating turns into something far less helpful – a strong desire to return to those days. Times past can always look a lot rosier than they actually were especially if you are struggling today.

The Israelites had that difficulty in the desert. Things were not going well and for the umpteenth time they complained to Moses, egged on by the ‘rabble’  …the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.  But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’ Numbers 11: 4 – 6.  How quickly the Israelites forgot their slavery and the misery it brought.

Happy memories need to be just that – memories not a lifestyle. They also need to be realistic, unlike the Israelites faulty recollections.

About 20 years ago our church ran an annual conference when well-known Christian speakers came and ministered. The whole church was involved in the arrangements. It was such fun, so refreshing and inspirational and when church can be a bit of a struggle, the temptation to desire to return to those days is great. But that was then and this is now. We are no longer the people we were and we can never re-create those days. We can appreciate them but we must move on.

Moving on is also something that churches can find hard. When things are going swimmingly it is great temptation to not just linger but put down roots. 

Peter and John had that trouble at the Transfiguration. It was so fantastic, so incredibly amazing that Peter wanted to build huts for them all to live in. But the purpose of the Transfiguration was not to create a monument and a place to stay but to encourage Jesus for the tough road ahead. Peter and John were so privileged to get a front row seat. However Jesus knew there was still a valley full of needy people below that he needed to return to before facing the gruelling reality of the cross.

Churches fossilise if they stay put in what they prefer instead of pushing into the new and unfortunately there are many denominations and churches that bear testimony to this. God’s ‘mercies are new every morning’ and he encourages is to pray ‘Give us this day our daily bread’.  His mercies and daily bread are always fresh and usually different from yesterday’s. 

Whilst God is unchanging, we are not meant to be either as individuals or as churches. God is calling us into a lifestyle of transformation into the image of Jesus and as a body of transforming people, our churches will also inevitably transform. 

It can be hard to let go of a seemingly happy past to walk into the uncertainty of the future. But as Christians we have one great advantage. We don’t go alone. Jesus is firmly holding our hand and is walking with us every step of the way. We need never fear the future if we trust God with the path ahead. 

From slave ship to the palace

But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 8: 16 – 17

A few years ago God gave me a picture of a wooden slave ship – the sort where the slaves were chained in the bowels of the ship rowing. There they sat in row upon row, unable to go anywhere and unable to do anything except row the huge oars. Indeed they had no say in where they were rowing, where they were going or why. All they could do is sit there and row and if they stopped they would be beaten.

This is an awful picture of sin. We are chained to it, unable to free ourselves from its bonds. As Paul says:  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7: 18 – 20

Sin is a cruel slave master, chaining us into a life that we do not want.

However in my picture, I saw Jesus come in a shining light into the bowels of this hell-hole of a ship, walk up to one of the slaves and hold out his hand. As the slave took Jesus hand, the chains fell off and startled beyond imagination he walked out with Jesus from his prison. What a wonderful picture of salvation. … through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 2.

However as I looked I saw Jesus take the slave, blinking out into the sun and onto a busy London pavement outside Buckingham Palace. He took his old filthy rags and gave him new ‘robes of righteousness’. With a word he was cleansed so his body was clean and groomed. The slave was transformed - clean in every way – inside and out.

Then something wonderful happened. Jesus led the ‘new creation’ across the road to Buckingham Palace and took him inside. The ex-slave was almost struck speechless. The palace was beautiful beyond anything he had ever seen or could imagine. It was amazing in every way – beautiful rooms, furnishings, grounds and wonderful staff to meet his every need.  This however was not a life of privilege to indulge himself but a life of privilege from which a new life of service and devotion to the King would flow.

The great thing about being British is that we understand royalty. We grow up with it and have it modelled to us all our lives. Our Royal family is indeed privileged. There is little they cannot have in terms of material items or being served but they model to our nation and the world that this life of privilege is also one of duty and service. They work extraordinarily hard to serve and bless others through patronage of military organisations, professional bodies and a multitude of charities. Having a member of the Royal Family as a patron or president to your organisation or charity adds publicity, visibility and credibility to the work and is greatly sought after.

As Christians we are members of THE Royal Family. We have not only been released from the slavery to sin, cleansed and clothed in robes of righteousness but we have been taken into the palace to serve the King and the Kingdom.  We have every resource available to do this and many have faithfully used their lives and talents to bless the world. 

The Church does an enormous amount of good work, not just through charities like Tearfund, Hope for Justice, Christians against Poverty but by assisting local communities through toddler and parent groups, holiday clubs, food banks, old peoples’ clubs and other services let alone ministering to the wider world through missions work.  And that’s how it should be.

We have not been saved to indulge ourselves in the blessings and privileges of life in the Kingdom but to reach out to the needy world so that people know when the Church gets involved they are going to get the best and it will come with grace, love and kindness.