LENT WEEK 4: DAY 27

The past they say is gone but does it really go? How many times do we often look back at the same past after leaving it behind? How often do we import the past into our present and make it our actuality? Let me start by sharing this with you; anyone who holds onto the past is denying the present and conditioning his future. Jesus will not differ from this when he affirms that “whoever has put his hands to the plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Take this for example; if someone comes and offers you a pair of shoes that they owned and keep looking at them while they are with you, how will you feel about it? Or after offering you the shoes and turning to go, they keep turning every step to look at the shoe as you are holding it, will you be comfortable keeping the shoes? What about someone who after giving you those shoes keeps saying ah, I miss my shoes when they see you with them, will be comfortable keeping and wearing those shoes? Just as you won’t be comfortable, it is the same way God also frowns at those who choose to follow him yet remain attached to things that hold them back. In the spiritual journey, there is no way you can move forward when you are still holding unto to what you left behind. Looking back is equal to missing all that we left behind and nursing regrets. This alone will create some sort of discouragement and weakness and also an incapacity to face current issues objectively and also the temptation of going back to what we left. This was the case with the Israelites who when told that what lies ahead is difficult, lamented and said it is better to return to Egypt (Numbers 14:1-4). Looking back is the first step to backsliding. Do not look back. When Abraham needed a wife for his son Isaac, and his servant who was under oath proposed to take his son back to where they came from to find a wife, Abraham refused and warned him that in no way should he take his son back (Genesis 24:5-6) but rather preferred that the oath be canceled than for his son to go back. This speaks volumes because going back is worse than failing to keep an oath. For Abraham, the risk and danger of looking and going back were enormous, and among them was the possibility of losing the promised land. God is very keen about looking back and when he came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he warned Lot and his family not to look back (Genesis 19:17) but to forge ahead. Leaving Sodom was equal to turning their backs on the evil and sin of the place, and looking back to it will simply be a sign that even though I’m leaving this sin, a part of me misses it and that simply means that you have not given up on the sin. What if after looking back Lot’s wife saw that nothing was happening to the city? Would she have continued the journey or would she be divided between going back to Sodom and moving to the new place? The old will always have some memories that will try to seduce us into falling back and that’s why God is saying, be careful not to look back. A funny way to explain it could be using this image of a woman or a man who after leaving their companion looks back at them and notices they are looking somehow better. That look could create a division within when the ex, appeals to them and those who are weak will give in to the nostalgia and go back not knowing that, what they are going back to is nothing else but an upgraded version of the hell they once lived in. This was the case with the Israelites who when faced with the challenge of hunger in the desert did not think of how to handle the current situation but looked back at how in Egypt, they had enough meat to eat (Exodus 16:2-3). They looked back at what they left behind and desired it forgetting that what they desired was nothing else but the house of slavery. If you left something, the implication is that the thing is not good so then why waste time trying to look at it again? If the thing is that good then why leave it? The commitment to leave should be a solid and well-reflected one, so that, once taken, it should be kept. Peter in talking to Jesus will ask him about them who have left everything to follow him (Mark 10:28)? This is because there is no way they could follow Jesus and still hold onto all they had before. There is no place for a divided service in the life of the disciple, he must choose one master (Matthew 6:24). I know what prompts many to look back is all they used to have that they are leaving behind but to them, Jesus says “on that day if you are on the rooftop, don’t go down into the house to get your belongings and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:31-32). You must remember that anyone joined to Christ is a new creature and that the old is gone giving place to the new (2 Corinthians 5:17). When you came to Christ, you gave up the old and Christ took it away and each time you look back, you are saying give me back my old. The one thing you must do is to forget what lies behind, and focus on what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13) it is in doing so, that you win the race. Imagine an athlete running a race and turning to look back as he runs, what will be the outcome? Comparing the past to today is nothing else but a blunder because all you will get is nostalgia, regrets, and pains. How do you even compare something that is gone with something that’s present? What you should remember is that what is gone is gone and won’t come back but what is present can become better if you work on it. Regrets and nostalgia do not help anyone but they contribute to destroying many lives. I leave you with these words of wisdom “Do not ask why the former times were better than the present. It is not wisdom that prompts such a question”

In Corda Matris.

Resolutions

I resolve to close the door of the past in my life.
I resolve to stay focused on the objective and not look back.
I resolve to run the race to the end with the help of God.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I thank you for accompanying me on this journey and for giving me the grace to stand firm and resist the temptations that are trying to pull me back. Help me to keep fighting and pushing forward every day so that with your constant help, I may one day be united with you and rejoice in your presence. Amen.