This Sunday we talked about freedom and the future and what the two have to do with each other. Here’s a little reminder of what we discussed.

I’m not sure about you but sometimes I can get stuck looking backward. We look back to the way things were. We draw on old memories. We focus on the good old days. But what if those good old days were right now? What if we weren’t supposed to get trapped in the rearview mirror and instead were supposed to look up and ahead?

We all know the dangers of driving forward while focusing on the rearview mirror. Just about everyone knows that looking backward while walking forward can be a little dangerous. So if we know this, then why do we do it in our lives in other ways? Now I’m going to talk to those church people for a minute. If you’re not one of those types of people, then you’re free to point your finger at us and laugh a little.

As a follower of Jesus we have a tendency to look backward, perhaps a little too much. I’m not saying to throw tradition out the window. I’m not saying we can’t learn from our past but there’s something to be said for looking in the direction you’re headed. My tribe (denomination) is one that tends to have many discussions about tradition and ritual. We focus a lot on the way things have always been done. Unfortunately, sometimes these discussions take more of a front burner to our lives than the way Jesus calls us to live. We can easily focus on things written by men more than on the things written by God.

Again before someone burns me at the stake here, I love the traditional liturgy. I love to see it done well and taught rightly. But just doing it because everyone else is doing it really isn’t smart. Doing it because we’ve always done it that way just doesn’t make any sense.

When Jesus called his disciples, he called them away from the way they’ve always done it and to a new way. He called them to follow him. There was no room for looking back at their traditions or even their families for that matter. Jesus commands all of us. Look at Jesus’ command to love God and love neighbor. It’s not past tense but present tense. That means the one thing Jesus told us to do, the one thing he points us toward is something in front of us not behind us.

So if our tradition prevents us from loving our God and loving our neighbor, then perhaps we need to reevaluate what’s really important. But for now let’s look ahead. Let’s set our faces toward what’s before us. Keep your eye on the prize. Look to the finish line of our lives of faith. Keep focused on the Jesus who died but who was raised. Look to the author and perfecter of our faith and he will allow us to accomplish all he has set before us. Look ahead and be amazed at what He can do through you when He is your only focus.