Moving Beyond the Rearview Mirror

Teachers have the privilege and honor of witnessing a heartwarming tradition every spring: we get to see our students complete a year of learning and move up a grade or graduate. And that naturally pulls us to reflect. The reflection is amplified for high school seniors because their graduation marks the closure of one chapter and the start of a new chapter of life in which we teachers are, in all essence, no longer involved. The teachers at NCA especially reminisce over the years of chapel services, countless interactions about homework and assignments, never-ending reminders about school policies and following rules, meaningful camp talks about friendships and relationships, and various choices and consequences through which life lessons were taught and learned. Recalling the past is even more poignant for parents. From the moment of birth to today, parents have a history and interaction with their child that is special, unique, and private. As such, memories are deeply etched in their hearts and minds, and they may shed a few tears as they recall, remember, and reflect. However, we must remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of education and parenting is to prepare and release our children into the future in which God’s sovereign plans for them will be unfolded and actualized to His glory and honor. (Please read that sentence again!)

As author and pastor Max Lucado illustrates in his book Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in Chaotic World, "The windshield is larger than the rearview mirror for a reason. [That’s because] Your past is not as important as your future.”

The "windshield" of a car represents the frame and lens of your view for the future. And the rearview mirror similarly represents the frame and reflection on your past. You can obviously tell there are size and perspective differences. And that's the point Lucado is making: your future demands full attention, not your past. Your future is coming toward you, surely and rapidly, while the present whizzes by, quickly becomes the past, and eventually fades into memory. So, live in the moment, look to the future, and do not dwell on or get stuck in the past. Keep looking back, you'll miss the present and future, and you might even get into accidents or troubles. Sadly, many people are glued to the rearview mirror, the past. That’s why Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?'" These refer to today, things around you now. Thus, wondering why the past was greater than today is foolishness. In Philippians 3:13-14, Apostle Paul tells us to "...forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead.” He himself is "...press[ing] on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [him] heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul was future-oriented. He did not dwell on the past. 

Paul's past was quite illustrious: Jewish bloodline, solid education and training, belonging to the prestigious religious group, zealously persecuting Christians, meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus, completing multiple missionary trips, establishing churches wherever he went, writing many Epistles, etc. But he told his readers (and himself) to stop dwelling on the past and look to the future. Paul essentially said, “Stop staring at the rearview mirror! Keep your eyes on the road ahead!” 

Especially when we dwell on past failures, we become debilitated. That is, we don't make good decisions or take positive actions because we are fearful. Some of us may even have echoing thoughts such as “I’m no good. I can’t do this. I’ve never been good at it. Something always goes wrong. I will never measure up to their expectations,” etc. However, God tells us through His inerrant Word that, although the past is an important point of reference and life lessons should have been learned through both failures and successes, we should never dwell on the past or remain stuck in it. We must, in fact, let go of the past, especially when it comes to losses, failures, and disappointments. Let such memories fade away and disappear in the rearview mirror, I urge you. This requires courage to put your faith and confidence in the sovereign God who guarantees to walk with you every step of the way.

Please don’t get me wrong. God never promises a trouble- or worry-free life. But He does say, I’ll be with you whether you walk through water or fire, whether you walk on the mountaintop or the valley of the shadow of death. And, parenthetically, God’s promise isn’t something that starts from now: He has always been with you, carrying you through difficulties, placing people in your life to help you, and entirely orchestrating your symphony. 

So, know that, if you remain in Him, that is, if you follow Him and love Him, all things will work together for your good because you are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Therefore, graduates, do look forward to the future alertly and actively. Cease from staring into the rearview mirror.  Thanks for the memory. And thanks for the privilege of teaching and guiding you. Now, move on. Move forward. Move upward. Take the step of faith into the unknown and unfamiliar. And know that God is with you always.