The Man in the Mirror: How Our Past Shapes Our Future
“The rearview mirror is smaller than the windshield because where you are going is more important than where you have been.” – Anonymous
You’ve probably come across that quote at some point in your life. It’s especially popular among life coaches, self-help gurus, and other assorted wisenheimers. Everyone from Joel Osteen to Mel Robbins to Jelly Roll has said, written, or posted a meme with some version of it. That’s because it’s memorable and makes a pretty good point:
In life, as when we’re driving down the highway, we are smart to focus more on the road ahead than what’s in our past.
And yet …
The past matters to our future. As the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana noted, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” And for most of us, there are plenty of parts we don’t want to repeat.
When it comes to how much attention we give to the past, Scripture takes a seemingly contradictory stance: Let it go and don’t forget it.
How can we let go of our past if we remember it? And how can we remember our past if we let go of it? Therein lies our conundrum.
Letting It Go
One of the things that holds many men back from living the life God’s calling us to live is that we can’t let go of who we were before we knew Jesus. We consider ourselves unqualified for kingdom tasks because of our mistakes, the pain we’ve endured, and our general lack of relevant knowledge and skills.
Ask us to change the flat tire on a car, grill burgers for dinner, or explain the infield fly rule? We’ve got that. Ask us to lead a Bible study, pray with our wife, or disciple a young believer? We disappear into the mist.
If not for God, of course, we’d be correct. We aren’t good enough, smart enough, or skilled enough to do the things God calls us to do – unless He helps us. But here’s the reality we too often ignore: He will help us.
When we give our lives to Christ, we are, as Paul put it, a new creation and the old has gone away. We can let go of our sin, release our pain, and “strain” toward what’s in front of us because God will supply what we lack. In other words, we can focus on the windshield.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV)
It’s helpful to remember that God is a Creator who is always up to something new – especially when it comes to taking our mistakes and turning them into something that reflects His glory. This was His promise to Israel even as they were headed into captivity to pay the price for their idolatry.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV)
And this is His promise to us.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5, NIV)
When we’ve gone through a wilderness and our life seems like a wasteland, we can let go of our past and trust that God will do something new in us and through us. He will make all things new.
Don’t Forget It
It’s easy to think of Deuteronomy as a book about the law because, well, that’s how the title translates from the Greek – the second law. Plus, it’s full of do-this-don’t-do-that verses, not the least of which are the 10 Commandments.
In the Hebrew, however, the fifth book of the Torah is known as Devarim, which essentially means, “the words.” And while many of the words are, in fact, about the law, the book is more accurately described as a farewell address from Moses to the people of Israel. They are heading to the Promised Land without him, and this is his parting wisdom.
The theme of his message: Remember and obey.
Remember how God delivered you from Egypt. (Deuteronomy 8:2)
Remember that God is a “consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24) and a “compassionate God.” (Deuteronomy 4:31)
Remember how you spent four decades in the wilderness and your shoes and clothes never wore out. (Deuteronomy 29:5)
Remember, when you strike it rich in Canaan, that God provided your wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Remember how God delivered victory over your enemies. (Deuteronomy 29:7-8)
Remember that you are a nation set apart for a reason. (Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2)
Remember the instructions God has given you and why those instructions matter. (Deuteronomy 8: 11; 30:19-20)
Over and over, God tells the people through Moses that remembering the past will help them keep His commands. And if they keep His commands, they will prosper. (Deuteronomy 30:9)
On the other hand, if they forget the past, they won’t keep God’s commands, and, you guessed it, it won’t go well. (Deuteronomy 8:19; 9:7)
The emphasis on remembering is reinforced by the entirety of Scripture. In the Old Testament, God established regular festivals, told the people to set up physical markers (like the stones they carried out of the Jordan River), and instructed them to teach what they knew to their children. Why? To help them remember God and keep His commands.
Clearly, there is power in remembering God for who He is and all He’s done in our lives. So, we remember the past when we praise Him for the blessings we’ve experienced…
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:2-2, NIV)
And we remember the past when we cry for help because we’re hurting ... Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” (Psalms 77:10-12, NIV)
Here’s what both approaches to the past have in common: they put God in control, not us. We let go of the pain and insecurities associated with our past, and we let God create something new in us and through us. And we remember what God has done throughout history and specifically in our lives. Thus, no matter whether we’re looking in the mirror or through the windshield, we’re looking at God.