Sometimes in life looking back seems like a good idea. Like remembering the past so that we don't repeat the mistakes. We don't often look back to repeat the good stuff. We look at the present or the future for the good stuff. The world is intent on looking back. That's one of the ways that the world holds captive those who are entangled in it's claws. I grew up on a farm. There was always work to be done on the farm. One such chore was putting in the crop. Plowing the fields and seeding them so that the crop would grow and produce in the fall. So, in early spring we went to the field. The beginning of plowing the field is the most important part. When you have a field a half mile long there needs to be focus in order to draw a straight line from one end of the field to the other. You start at the middle of the field and pick out a landmark somewhere toward the horizon. When you find such a landmark you engage the drill (machine that actually plants the seeds) and drop the plow into the ground and start your first line. It's important to keep your eyes on the landmark so that the line will be straight and the field will end up equally plowed and planted. When I first began plowing and planting I looked back to make sure everything was okay. When I look forward again I found that my landmark had moved! I was off track. Two things need to be in place for the line to be straight. The first is focus on the landmark. The second is faith in the machinery that it will do it's job. If you don't have the first, your line is off. If you don't have the faith in your machinery the tendency is to look back and violate the first. When I arrived at the end of the journey and looked back the truth would be evident whether the line was straight or if I had looked back. Never look back and always have faith in your machinery.
When we are involved in Christian ministry (and we all should be) there is the need to have faith that God will lead and direct your path. This would be His path if we truly have decided to follow Jesus. When God sends people out, he sends them into the future. When he asks us to do something it's for the future. In speaking the word of God there is only the future we look at. We may remind people of what has happened in the past but the focus is always on the future. That future would be conversion to Jesus and then to follow Jesus. God doesn't show us the end of the story. Well, kinda in a general way with the Rapture and what follows. But ministry is in the "right now" mode. We plant a seed with the prayer and hope that it will grow and mature producing a harvest. We can only plant seeds that we have. If we aren't true believers and dedicated to Jesus then the seeds we have are false and will not reap a harvest for God. The Bible tells us that "narrow is the path" of righteousness and wide is the path of destruction. When we live in the wide path we lose sight of the landmark and go astray to the right or the left. There is less and less contact with those who are on the straight and narrow and more contact with those who are perishing. Eventually we are called to choose whom we will follow. All to many Christians choose to follow the world. Not only are they betraying their love of Jesus but they are teaching others to do the same. Not good. Been there and done that.
The question is put to us to check what kind of field we are sowing? What are we using for the landmark to go through the field of life we are placed within? How will we focus in order to keep Jesus first in our lives? What will happen to those who are perishing if we don't stay focused on what God wants? Unable to plant his seeds we become ineffective and harmful for the Kingdom of God. It's still a choice. You and I can choose every day whether we go the straight and narrow and please God or whether we compromise our love for Jesus and become anathema (a curse) to God. There are no more choices. You are doing one or the other. It's always your choice. However, the results of your choice determines whether the field is planted or whether it's not planted. Choose today what you will. It's your choice.
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