Nostalgia--that retreat into our memory to a time and place that is so different from the here and now--gives us a feeling of comfort and well-being that is not afforded to us by the circumstances we see on the nightly news. We long for the relative calm security that was ours in a by-gone era.
But how good were the good old days? Really, how good were they?
Most of us had far less disposable income then. We had to pinch
pennies and clip coupons. We had to conserve our resources by saving
'Green Stamps' to obtain the more frivolous of our desires.
And it wasn't simply in the financial realm that we had challenges. There was the 'Cold War' to deal with. How many remember the drills at school where children had to hide under their desks so they'd be protected in case the bomb was dropped?
There was no 'War on Terror,' but we had among us brave men who had fought in WW II and in Korea and in VietNam. Man's bellicosity was not unknown among us in the good old days.
What does all this tell us about life? Basically, it says that man hasn't changed in the entirety of his existence. May has, from the curse, been required to make his way by the sweat of his brow. Man has, from the time Cain slew Able been bent toward inhumanity to his brother...only his methods have changed.
Rather than rewind to a simpler, better time, we must go forward in truth and power to the good things our God has prepared for us. We must first claim His free gift of salvation through Christ, then we must disperse that glorious gift to everyone whose life touches ours...then we must go forward into any situation we face with faith that HE is faithful and WE are secure in Him.
And it wasn't simply in the financial realm that we had challenges. There was the 'Cold War' to deal with. How many remember the drills at school where children had to hide under their desks so they'd be protected in case the bomb was dropped?
There was no 'War on Terror,' but we had among us brave men who had fought in WW II and in Korea and in VietNam. Man's bellicosity was not unknown among us in the good old days.
What does all this tell us about life? Basically, it says that man hasn't changed in the entirety of his existence. May has, from the curse, been required to make his way by the sweat of his brow. Man has, from the time Cain slew Able been bent toward inhumanity to his brother...only his methods have changed.
Rather than rewind to a simpler, better time, we must go forward in truth and power to the good things our God has prepared for us. We must first claim His free gift of salvation through Christ, then we must disperse that glorious gift to everyone whose life touches ours...then we must go forward into any situation we face with faith that HE is faithful and WE are secure in Him.
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