God’s Word contains several WARNINGS about ‘looking back.’
Perhaps the strongest of these warnings was the one recorded of Jesus in Luke 9:62.
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
WHY all of the anxiety over ‘looking back’?
It might be a little more clear if those warnings were addressed to BELIEVERS.
Those of the world can look back, reminisce about times that never were; engage in NOSTALGIA about things as they WISH they could have been; prattle on about the GOOD OLD DAYS that simply did not happen.
- What Does the Bible Say About the Good Old Days?
- Hollywood and the Good Old Days: Remembering a Time Which Never Existed
- Nostalgia: A Tool of the Enemy
- Do Not Look Back: Time is Too Short
- There Were No Good Old Days
On the other hand, what is it about the life BELIEVERS once lived that would make ANY but the foolish look back?
LOOKING BACK for a BELIEVER is an admission of regret.
Regret over having gained admission to heaven at the cost of giving up the possibility of the very temporary, very short-lived things of the world.
Regret over having found the very difficult, correct way of life.
Regret over the realization that this present life is only a test–and therefore, is not all that important in the scheme of eternity.
BELIEVERS realize that their life before being reborn spiritually was a death sentence: a time when one was focused on the world and the things of the world.
A time when one paid lip service to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
A time when one enjoyed the exaltation of the world–instead of regarding such acclaim warily.
The BELIEVER is cautioned against ‘looking back’ because, for the BELIEVER, looking back usually means a fondness for that time when the person who is now a BELIEVER was walking the broad, wide path of destruction.
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat”
–Matthew 7:13
Therefore, IF one is a BELIEVER: don’t look back.
IF one is a TARE or a WORKER OF INIQUITY: go ahead, look back at what might have been–and the what-might-have-been‘s will most likely be based on this present world.
[Now, a word of clarification: there is a BIG DIFFERENCE between EXAMINING times which are past–perhaps to try and gain some insight on why the believer didn’t recognize he was deceived–and LONGING for those times which once were. There is a HUGE difference between trying to accurately remember how times were and softening those days gone by with little flourishes and mental decorations.]
DOES the reader regard times in the past fondly?
It is not YET too late: there is still a LITTLE time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.
DOES the reader believe he is saved?
Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival
DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?
Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16
A Reminder: The Gospel is Simple
MORE: Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report
[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: March 14, 2022.]
MORE
- Nostalgia: A Tool of the Enemy
- What Does the Bible Say About the Good Old Days?
- Hollywood and the Good Old Days: Remembering a Time Which Never Existed
- Do Not Look Back: Time is Too Short
- There Were No Good Old Days
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by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier
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