Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: there are values and dangers in all three. Yesterday is a valuable thing. It is valuable if we learn from it and do not let ourselves make the same mistakes as have been made before. The mistakes of history will be repeated if not remembered. Mistakes in relationships will also be repeated. The church particularly needs to learn from the past. There is not really any new error that comes forth, just the rehashing of past errors. When we do not learn from the past, and prepare for those battles that can come, we will fail, as is happening in so many places, just like in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Throughout the past 2 and 1/2 centuries, schools that have begun as solid Christian schools have floated off, and sometimes run off, in the direction of error. The University of Kentucky has partial roots in what was once a Christian school. It behooves Christian schools now to beware and understand what has happened, and continues to happen in some places. It is possible to hold the line, (and we need to pray that those institutions that have held the line will continue to do so), but it is a constant uphill battle. So is every phase of the Christian life. If we can remember yesterday, maybe we can avoid losing those battles, individually, as churches and even in the Christian schools that still remain faithful.

Yesterday is a precious thing. The events of yesterday are those that fill our lives and our hearts and help make life so much worth living. The love that we have shared, the friends we have made, the activities in which we have participated all have come together to help form who we are today. Yesterday lies behind as the foundation of all our todays and tomorrows.

Yesterday is a dangerous thing. When we allow ourselves to live in the past, we will tend to be unhappy, and long for what has been instead of living. It is also possible that yesterday can cause us to rest upon our laurels. We can decide that we have done our part, and “retire” from serving God. Yet, when Jesus speaks the parable of the laborers it should be noted that all of them received the same reward, yet they were all expected to finish the day’s work no matter when they started. We have to finish, and living in yesterday can hold us back.

Tomorrow is valuable because it is an undelivered possibility. We can dream about tomorrow. We can plan for tomorrow. We have hope in the events of tomorrow. The future can be as bright as we can imagine. Tomorrow is a longed for gift from God. Tomorrow also holds the promises of eternity for which all Christians long. Tomorrow lies ahead for us to move forward.

Tomorrow can be dangerous if we become too dependent upon it. When we put off life until tomorrow then we very likely will never truly live it. Tomorrow may or may not come. If it does, it will no longer be tomorrow, but will become today. If our hearts and minds are only on tomorrow, then we will ignore the right now.

Today is a valuable thing. It is undoubtedly one of the most valuable things that we can possess. Built on the foundation of yesterday, and building for tomorrow, today is the tool that we find in our hand to use. We must press forward as Paul says that he has learned to do in the book of Philippians. Today is the building block that will become tomorrow’s yesterday. It is the path upon which our feet are now treading, and is ultimately the only chance we have to make changes that will effect tomorrow and eternity.

Today is dangerous if we become so involved in today, and put all our stock in this moment that we forget that there is an eternity with which we have an appointment. Today can be the time of action and change, but if we waste it, we will make our tomorrows dim and eternity uncertain.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: May precious memories of yesterday sustain you, while you learn from its mistakes. May today be a time of success and preparation. May you live today fully and totally. May you have many tomorrows that will become wonderful todays that leave behind memorable yesterdays.

Most of all may you follow God. Then when all of your yesterdays have left, your today ends, and there are no more tomorrows, you can step from time into eternity prepared to be home with the saved of all the ages in the very presence of God. “Today is the day of salvation.”