You
may find it amazing to know that I consistently have to tell my teenaged child
to watch where he is walking.
Seriously. Why does he try to
look behind him while walking forward?
It always ends badly. People get
trampled, his feet get tangled up and he falls, he randomly walks into
things. You would think that after a
couple of these episodes he would have figured it out. I am still patiently (or not so much) awaiting
this event. Hopefully he will soon
realize that looking backward throws up roadblocks and halts his forward
momentum.
Sound
familiar? Not the part about my
son. The part where we forget that
looking back isn’t such a great idea. What
good can come from looking at the past, reconsidering our shortcomings, or just
casting a longing glance over our shoulder at the way things used to be? What exactly do we miss about the past or do
we still long to hold onto? Where there are always great memories to cherish
and intense gratefulness for where Jesus has brought us from, constant looking
back indicates a state of longing for what used to be. It’s hazardous to your health, not just
physically and emotionally, but spiritually as well.
Because
of that, it behooves us to remember the little passage in Luke 17:32 that
simply says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” You
know the story. (Genesis 18-19) Angels go into Sodom and Gomorrah hours before
their demise to rescue Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and his family. The angels of God miraculously hold back the
evil residents of Sodom, allowing the family to escape the coming
judgment. As Lot, his wife, and his
daughters are escorted from the city by their Heavenly rescuers, the angels tell
them to run for their lives and issue the specific mandate, “Don’t look
back.” It seems so simple. Just keep looking forward, keep walking, don’t
look back. Yet Lot’s wife couldn’t keep
from glancing back. And at what? Sodom and Gomorrah were so horrible, so
depraved that God could not find even ten righteous people in them. (Genesis
18:32) What was so glamorous about those towns that she was willing to throw
her life away for one last glance?
It’s
easy to judge Lot’s wife because we know what happened to her in the end, she
looked back and became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26) It’s not so easy to
look at ourselves and see the same thing, the same backward glance, the same
desire to hold on to something from our past. And it’s just as deadly for our
souls as it was for her life. Jesus
tells us that “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is
fit for the kingdom of God”. (Luke 9:62 KJV) If you are looking back you aren't ready to go forward. Your heart’s not completely interested in what’s ahead of you. That means something you hold more dear is behind you.
It means you are willing to give up the promise of the future with God for an un-promised re-run of moments past. It means something else is more important than Jesus. It begs the question, “What’s behind you
that’s more important than getting to Heaven?”
What’s
holding you back? What's stopping you from starting? An old habit? Ungodly
friends? A questionable lifestyle? Maybe
it’s a situation you failed to forgive.
Maybe there’s some bitterness, anger, pain you don’t want to let go. What’s got your attention? What’s tempting you to throw your faith overboard,
toss Heaven out the window? Is it worth
it? Is it worth eternal punishment? Is
it more exciting than an eternal reward? Is it more important to you than
seeing Jesus face to face?
When
I was a child, there was a common statement, “I don’t want to miss Heaven for
the world.” I have no idea who coined
the phrase, or where it might have originated. I don't recall ever knowing, but I know
this—I don’t want to miss Heaven for the world!
There’s nothing here that is more alluring, more exciting, or more
important than getting to Heaven and seeing Jesus. I hope you feel the same way. I hope your eyes are fixed steadfastly
forward. I hope that with the Apostle
Paul and me you can honestly say, “…Forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14
KJV) No looking back. No turning back. Just “straight on ‘til morning”.
