Blooms of Life

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

How many times have you started a sentence with, ‘I remember when…’, as you think on how things use to be? There are different reasons why we look back. Sometimes it is simply a sweet memory that brings a smile as we contentedly live in the present. Other times, through discontent, it becomes more of a longing to go back to how things were before. The problem with living in the past is that we stagnate in the present, with no vision of the future.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? Luke 24:5

Jesus died to give us life, hope and a future, but what kind of life or hope or a future do we have if we live in the graveyard of things long gone? When Jesus went to the cross and was then taken to the tomb, the world stopped for the disciples. Those three days probably felt like weeks, and through all of the sorrow and confusion there were likely many conversations that began with, ‘Do you remember…?’ They were stuck, and being stuck can cause us to look back. The truth, of course, is that while their world stood still, victorious things were taking place; a new chapter was unfolding.

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Romans 6:8

From death comes life, and if we want to live in the fullness of life, we need to let old ways and old ideas die. We serve a living and active God and if our eyes are always looking back, we will miss what God is doing right in front of us.

Don’t idealize the past – bury it – and move forward with God to a blooming fruitful future.