Eyes Forward

My military career ended many years ago. However, I can still remember standing in formation with the company commander’s order of “Eyes Forward” ringing in my ears. There were many rules for formation; but the primary one was to keep looking forward, no looking to the side or, heaven forbid, behind you.

This is generally great advice for life. We waste too much time and energy looking back or looking at others. As Christians, we know we should keep our “eyes on Jesus.” That’s a difficult rule to execute. 

Do you have trouble looking back? Does your past continue to haunt your present? I have used the analogy of the automobile which has a huge windshield through which we look forward and small rear view mirrors for occasional glances backward. If we spend too much time looking in the rear view mirror, we may crash. 

I think some people are haunted by their past because they haven’t dealt with it. It’s usually an issue of forgiveness. We all have things in the past we need to forgive. Primarily we need to forgive ourselves. For those sins we have committed we need to confess them to the Lord and RECEIVE His forgiveness for them. If we have hurt others we need, to the extent possible, make amends. Once we’ve done that we need to move on. During a Kairos weekend we perform a forgiveness ceremony. We write down all those things we need to forgive (including ourselves). We then burn the paper. Like most ceremonies, it’s a symbol of what we need to do. Once confessed, we need to burn the past. 

The other action which “Eyes Forward” forbids is looking to the side. When Satan can’t get us to relive the past; he’s good at getting us to live someone else’s life. When we look to the side, at others, we think we see folks living easier, better lives. We turn green with envy. These visions are usually not accurate. Christians are particularly good at putting on a smiley face, even when things are tough. Part of our walk is certainly dealing with our brothers, but wishing we could have their lives is usually misguided and always a waste of time. 

Eyes forward. God has great things ahead of us, principally Himself. When the race is run and the tears are wiped away. There will be God. That will be great.

Be blessed.

Nick