Looking Back

Last week marked the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington. Fifty years ago, MLK Jr. gave probably one of the most well-known speeches about a dream he had for this nation. To honor MLK Jr.'s and those who marched with him, people gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and many speeches were given. Of those speeches, most of them seemed to look back to where we were as a nation fifty years ago and where we are today. In a way, this anniversary was a chance to judge the progress we as a nation have made in reaching MLK Jr.'s dream.

When is the last time you took a look at your life and reflected on the progress you've made? I don't mean progress in your career or schooling, I mean progress in the maturity of your faith. During day to day life, we often forget to pause and evaluate ourselves. It usually doesn't strike us until we face a situation similar to one we faced in the past and realize the difference in the way we handled it. But if you looked back over the past five years, have you changed as a person for the better? Certainly you've made some mistakes and stumbled along the way, but is your general projection one of growth? This is something so important, but often overlooked.

The author of Hebrews talks pretty plainly about growth. He says,

"In fact we have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" Hebrews 5:11-14

We aren't meant to stay the same. We are meant to grow, develop, and learn to recognize good from evil. Once we come face to face with the Creator and understand his love for us, we are not meant to walk away unchanged. Once we recognize him as Master and Savior, we should never be the same again. From that point on, through study, prayer, and incorporating him into every minute of our lives, he will begin to mold and shape us into who he truly intended us to be. He will start to kill off everything bad in us and begin to replace it with his goodness and his light.

So how is your faith? Has it grown over the past few years, weeks, days? Are you better at trusting him than you used to be? Do you have more compassion, more grace, more thankfulness in your life? Look into it. Maybe make a list if you need to see it in front of you. On the areas you've grown, thank God. Only he can turn our wretched selves into anything worthwhile. And on the areas you haven't grown or have fallen behind, ask for God's help and begin to consciously work on them. Then, when you look back over your list in a week or month, you can see if you've made progress. Please do not take God out of the equation-- when we try to do things on our own, we end up failing. But with his guidance, direction, and grace, we have the beautiful ability to grow into better people each day.