In response to my recent article on Nostalgia (which you ought to read, in my opinion!), I do need to state that there is a place for a backward glance. One such glance is called thanksgiving. I'm reading in Exodus now that God wants the Israelites to remember how HE delivered them from Egypt. One such way to remember was the Passover feast. In addition, they were supposed to eat unleavened bread to remind them that they left Egypt in a hurry. Some folks were even instructed to lay forth a pile of stones to remind future generations how God had delivered them.But the purpose of thanksgiving was to praise God in the present, and to help the people trust Him in the future. Instead of looking for a repetition of the event (another Exodus, Red Sea Crossing, etc....) or a recreation of the experience of the event (nostalgia), the backward glance was to help them move forward into the Promised Land. Ultimately it was to point them to the cross, which is the ultimate Exodus. Now it is our turn to look to the cross. Only we look back, to guide us in the present and trust Him in the future. After all, He who did not spare his own son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not, along with Jesus, graciously give us all things (Rom 8:32)?
2 comments:
I am quite a nostalgic person and I am and will be grateful to my Lord as long as I live for this wonderful and beautiful gift He has given me:Nostalgia. Throughout in my life, in good and happy times, hard times, very painful and dangerous times, whenever I was excitedly or desperately praying for guidance, wisdom and help, I always ended up in a nostalgic trip to the past. Then I always realized that this was with a purpose, to show it to me that the Lord is always faithful and leads me in the right direction, I must not lose faith in Him ever. And thus He guided me through another critical time.
With Nostalgia, by re-living the past (and to some extent longing for it) the Lord provides help, strength and guidance to deal with the present.
I do not recall that in my life I ever had a negative experience being a nostalgic person. At the end it was always helpful and what is the most important, it always strengthened, reinforced my faith in my Lord and Saviour.
So, thank you Lord for Nostalgia, Paul Der.
Paul,
I think that you're defining nostalgia differently than I do.
There is a need for reflection on what God has done in the past. One such reflection is over Salvation History (how God has intervened into the word to save His people).If you read Habakkuk 3, you'll see Habakkuk reflect and "poeticize" on how God delivered Israel in the Exodus, the Red Sea Crossing, and the conquest of the land. But he is not wanting to return to that point in time, or longing for that point in time. He instead reminds himself that He delivered Israel through these events, and trusts that God will deliver His people from the Babylonians in the future. He likely doesn't get to see this event though, but only hopes for it in faith.
Ultimately, the culmination of Salvation History is the Cross of Jesus. We should be thankful for that AND for specific things he has done in the past in our lives (many Psalms do this), as well as positive memories of how He's blessed us with countless blessings of family, friends, and fish.
That's called Thanksgiving. I think we would both agree on that, minus the fish part.
However, "by re-living the past (and to some extent longing for it)." I would disagree with this statement. I feel that crosses over into dangerous territory, much like the Israelites who longed to return to Egypt. They didn't properly reflect on how God had already intervened (Thanksgiving), but nostalgically (although you might find a better word for this) wanted to return to a place they found easier to survive.
They wanted to move backward, not forward. And that I think is the main issue.
If you want to talk about it in person, I'm up for it brother! Thanks for reading and responding, even when you disagree! Peace.
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