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Focusing on the Future

                On July 20, 1969, millions of people watched as NASA landed the first men on the moon.  It was the culmination of the dream set forth by President John F. Kennedy and it was one of the most engaging and impressive feats of human achievement. 
                It is also one of NASA’s biggest problems. 
                You see, NASA has a great history, but what it desperately needs is an equally great and compelling future.
                It is easy to get caught looking backwards and longing for the good old days. We are drawn to the past because it is familiar.  Recently, I heard an eighty-year-old man say, “I would rather go back to being 65 years old than go on to be 95.  At least I know what 65 was like”.   The trick with the past, of course, is that you cannot go back, and you cannot recreate it today.  No one would suggest that NASA ought to reclaim their glory days by building the same old rockets with 1960s technology and re-do all the missions that they did then.  Time has moved on.  Scary or not, we must face the future.    
                But what if you knew that you had help?  What if you understood that, no matter what, you are not alone?  Even more, what if you believed that the future could be the best part?  
                To a church that was facing an uncertain future, the Apostle Paul wrote, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you…. And his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19).
                If we could see properly, with our spiritual eyes open, we would understand that the future is not as uncertain as it seems.  In fact, because of God’s power and grace, you can start again.  You can live in hope and peace.  You can find a bright future by living in God’s promises and in his strength. 
                Do not ignore your past.  Honour the good and deal with the pain, but do not spend too much time looking back.  You are not going that way.
                “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).          

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