Rearview Living

Imagine climbing into your car for a quick trip to the store. You’ve made that drive a thousand times, but today there’s one rule: you can only look in the rearview mirrors. The windshield is completely blocked.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

You probably know where a few stop signs are. Maybe you could guess when the traffic lights change. Somehow you might even convince yourself you can make it. But how far would you actually get? Would your car survive? Would pedestrians, wildlife, and other drivers become unwilling participants in your experiment?

If the police finally pulled you over after your smoking, dented vehicle left a trail of destruction, they probably wouldn’t walk up and say, “Who did this to you? It certainly wasn’t your fault. I can see your rearview mirrors work just fine. That windshield is perfectly blocked like it should be…have a nice day.”

Raise your hand if you know where this is going.

Far too many Christians are trying to move forward while staring backward. We replay old failures, painful conversations, embarrassing mistakes, missed opportunities, broken relationships—even our past victories. Yet Paul said we are to forget what is behind and press toward what is ahead.

Why? Because the past cannot be edited.

The marathon runner cannot go back and run the last mile faster. The race car driver cannot redo the previous lap. Yesterday’s job interview, that angry phone call, those rebellious teenage years, or that costly decision are finished. Dwelling on them only steals today’s focus.

Even yesterday’s successes can become dangerous. We can spend so much time eye-polishing old trophies piled in the backseat that we neglect the potential trophies before us.

The rearview mirror has a purpose, but it was never meant to replace the windshield. Learn from yesterday, implement necessary changes, thank God for His grace, and then fix your eyes on Christ. The road ahead is where He is leading us…all the way back to Himself.