All For Which The Past Is Good

A common thing for people to do is to recall the past. The funny things that occurred growing up; the first time lifelong friends from grade school, high school, college; moments of triumph and achievement. There is also the sadness of the lost of relationships; of the passing of parents, friends, and relatives; of embarrassments and humiliations. Depending upon the impact of the moment people are likely to remember exact dates and times, where they were, what they and others were wearing, etc. Most acutely, people recall how they felt...and what they learned, if anything. So many things are recalled, but one is often lost:Acts 17:26-28 KJV And [God] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (27) That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.The problem with "back in the day" is that, too often, what people recall is what they did or what happened to them; the Lord may not even have a cameo role in their recollections. However, when the Bible waxes reminiscent, the focus is on what God did and those through which He worked. When our past is viewed through that type of God "prism", this life comes into focus. In fact, the only thing for which the past is good is not as a chronicle of what a man has come through, but as a record of how God has worked to fashion that man.

The Past