Do You Look to The Past or The Future?

Does the photo cause you to desire the past or dream of the future?

When I first opened the image, I immediately went to the past. I think I did that because I remembered taking the photo. However, shortly after that, I wondered how long it would be before we would see sights like this regularly.

Since I’m not getting out in crowds myself, I can’t confirm it, but I’m assuming crowded plazas at lunchtime are not the norm. You can let me know what you see by sending me a comment.

Why did I ask about the past or the future?

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I want to encourage you to consider where you place your focus. Do you spend most of your time wishing you were still in the past? Have you had successes, victories, or honors that have defined you? Maybe the glitter is wearing away, or the shine from a past glory is dimming. Or, have you lost a love you had for something in the past and can’t quite get it back?

On the flip side, are you allowing a mistake made years ago to hold you down? Are there memories of long-ago promises made and not kept? Do you go to bed at night praying something doesn’t catch up with you?

Whether you are stuck because of past achievements or failures, I believe God wants you to look to the future.

I often look to Paul’s teachings to help me. Paul, a true apostle, was all in for Jesus. God worked mightily through him while Paul was alive and had him write much of the Bible for our instruction.

While imprisoned in Rome, he wrote to his fellow Christians in Philippi, encouraging them to continue their spiritual growth. Early in this letter, Paul listed a slew of his human accomplishments. He ran through his pedigree, religious training, enthusiasm, eventually proclaiming himself blameless as to his righteousness. He then says…

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14, NASB)

None of his previous accomplishments mattered. I could see his past as both positive and negative. At one time, the religious leaders of the day held him in high esteem, clearly positive to Paul at the time. Later he considered those accolades as rubbish, a negative.

You see, Paul knew something we often forget. Our identity is in Christ, not ourselves.

There’s great hope in knowing while we may not be able to forget, we don’t have to live in the past. We can look to the future through the power of Christ who overcame death itself to be victorious.

Where do you spend most of your time—the past or the future?

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.