I have many pleasant memories of times of laughter, joy, the fun adventures and the people of my past. It is good to remember the “good ol’ days,” but we are wise to heed the warning labels that come with doing so.
For example, we must beware of idealizing the past. Life wasn’t perfect even in the greatest of times. We also need to not dwell on it so much that it blinds us to our present blessings. Good stuff is happening right before our eyes. Nor should we long to return to it or try to reconstruct it, because it is then that we begin to idolize the gifts of the past and forget the Giver.
God directs His people to remember the past as an asset to trusting Him in the present. It is to be a reminder to us that the same faithful God who was with us “then” is with us now. He is just as capable today as He ever was of leading us to people, events, opportunities, and situations that will also be pleasant memories one day.
He is actively loving us in every stage of our lives. So let us look back with thankfulness, look forward with hope and engage our present with faith in the One “who is, and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:4).
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