Good Morning All,
Luke 9:62; “Jesus said to him,
“Whoever starts to plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.”
It has been a long time since I have seen any plowing done in this
region. It used to be the only way anybody farmed but most plows are just
sitting in the weeds or shelterbelts now. It was always so important to start
off straight. If you didn’t start straight, you never got straight. So, you had
to pick a point out at the end of the field, keep your eyes focused on that
point and never look back. If you looked
back, you would lose the point you were focusing on.
Our verse uses the
plowing analogy to make a point. If you keep looking back at the past, you will
never see the future. This applies in a couple of ways. First, we cannot be
pining or looking longingly at our past sinful life. This means that if going
to a certain place or being with certain people will likely cause us to sin
then we need to avoid those places or people. This can be especially difficult
if they are family members or close friends. Yet if we look back, we lose sight
of Jesus. Our focus must always be heavenward and not earthward.
The second way to look
at this is that we must not look back at the past with despair. This world is
full of pain and sadness. Throughout our lives, people are going to disappoint
us. People are going to lie to us, they are going to use us, and they will
abuse us. Sometimes it will be by accident but a lot of times it will be on
purpose. The world will hurt us; this we know. So, God encourages us to let the
past be the past. What is in the past of
our lives should stay in the past. When we keep looking back at past pain, it
returns to our current life, and we experience the pain all over again.
So, Jesus tells us,
“don’t look back, keep looking ahead.”
In other words, don’t look over your shoulder with desperation and pain;
rather focus ahead with hope and confidence in God’s grace. Keep looking
forward, God’s grace is always leading us forward into his eternal kingdom. Hold
fast to his love and his promises; don’t let the old things drag you down. Don’t
let old days remind you and keep you in the pain that used to be. Live for
today with hope for tomorrow. Don’t look back; know that God’s mercy will
sustain you and lift you up. Keep looking forward to the hope and the certainty
of God’s everlasting love. Don’t look back on what will only cause you pain. Don’t
look back and let the devil chide you and cause you to suffer for his snide
comments. Keep looking forward, keep your eyes focused on Jesus. It is his love
that lets us focus on the prize of heaven.
Dear Father, in this
world of pain we too often look back and experience this pain again. Give us
the wisdom and the courage to look forward and to not look back. Help us to see
that nothing good comes from revisiting the sinful past. Guide us by your
Spirit and lead us to live with you in complete communion. Be with our brothers
and sisters who are especially in need of your love at this time. This we ask in Jesus’ precious name, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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