Have you ever walked through a graveyard? Looked closely at the tombstones? In the summer time our church has groups that rotate through the care of the church graveyard. Often when I trim around the headstones I see the dates of someone’s birth, and their death. Some are long spans of time, some are short. But each shows an untold history of the life that was lived. You catch a glimpse of even the relationships they had by the care or words inscribed on the stone by someone who knew them. I start this week’s blog thinking about the history of a persons life. What was said of them as they lived their lives between the dates of their birth and death? Who were they? What did they stand for? Were they faithful to God to the end?

History is littered with untold stories. Countless people who lived and died with, or without, the promises of God in their lives. Some we remember, simply because someone took the time to write things down! Others are passed on orally. Like the stories of a relative or friend that meant something to us so we share that to the next generation. But ultimately everyone has, or will have, succumbed to the ever grinding wheels of history; leaving the next generation to carry on, or learn from the one’s gone before.

History is a subject easily dismissed. I mean who cares about the past when we are in the here and now? Who wants to worry about stuffy old dates and dead people that hold no meaning to someone one, or two hundred years removed? The sad truth is what Winston Churchill said in 1948. Paraphrasing George Santayana; he said “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,”. How true that sentiment is! This is strictly opinion, but I think there’s a truth that is often overlooked when we choose to ignore history. It is this: in our arrogance we think we know better than those who fought the same battles before us. That is the very definition of hubris.

Now there may be a time and a place to simply re-evaluate things that are non-salvation related. Opportunity to examine and makes changes to an old method or thought. Where we as humans succumb to the slippery slope of Relativism and Presentism is when we think we know better than our ancestors and set about changing the policies or practices of today simply because we think we know better. Or perhaps it is simply pride that clouds our vision and we forget the warning labels, or sage advice offered by those gone before us?

Think I might be wrong? That’s fine but before you ignore whats being said let’s look into Scripture for some guiding principles. If you start with Deuteronomy 6:8, and 11:18, they both describe God commanding the Children of Israel to put his word before them in a way they won’t forget it. Next moving to Joshua 4 you see that the children of Israel made a monument of twelve stones after the Jordan River crossing to honor God and as a symbol to future generations of what God had done that day, and before. You could look up and read about Joshua setting a monument at Shechem (also an earlier blog), Samuel raising the Ebenezer stone, or the symbolism required in the priestly garments. Not to mention the commandments to “remember” or “Forget not” in various passages (do a quick search in the Strong’s Concordance), AND the commandments Jesus gave about Communion after the Passover supper recorded in the Gospels. All these point to either a historical event, or words said to be remembered.

Remembering history and events is a very big theme in scripture. One we cannot simply overlook because of intellectual laziness. The struggles, victories, and promises that were fought and claimed by men and woman who lived before us are not to be forgotten simply because we may be “enlightned”; or feel that the battles of yesterday have no bearing on us today. A sobering thought that ties into this is found in 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”. Satan has been plotting and seeking who to destroy for long time. And there have been Saints in the past who have kept the Faith and stood firm in Christ. How did they do it? What was their secret? By keeping close to Christ and learning of Him in the Word of God. Look at James 4:8. It is very clear what must be done to be faithful. And part of this is by getting in God’s Word to learn of the victories of the Saints before.

To think we are above the need to learn from the past is to own peril. The issues that face the Believer today ALL have an answer in Scripture that has been wrestled with, defined, and upheld by faithful Believer in the past. Abortion, money issues, government respect, homosexuality, marriage, salvation in Christ or works, and scores more issues are clearly defined in Scripture for the life of the Believer to maintain a separated and holy walk with God. The problem isn’t terminology or dogma, but a disciplined life In God and His Word.

We all have been there: wrestling with an issue and wanting help to make sense of it in today’s world. But how often do we take the time to learn what faithful followers have held to in the past? Where did they get their strength and knowledge on issues? From the Word of God that’s where. The space between those faithful Believers birth and death was marked with untold stories of decisions and struggles that drew them closer to God. They weren’t perfect but they kept the Faith and passed it on by God’s grace!

Our birth dates are already written; our deaths are beyond our control. The only thing we have a direct impact on is the lives we are living right now. The space between the dates is what will be remembered by our children, friends and grandchildren. 2 Peter 1:3 says we have all we need. We have God’s Word, and the witness of those gone on before as is mentioned in Hebrews 12:1. We can run this race. We can keep the Faith! But we have to learn from those who have gone on before, trust in the One who has gone on ahead, and rest in the guiding of His Holy Spirit for today. Don’t give up yet because we are getting closer each day and we will be finished! God bless and until next week, keep being a faithful light!

Here is the first two stanzas of “The Dash Between” by Linda Ellis to maul over as we close this blog.

Between the date when we arrive
and the date we go away,
there exists a horizontal line
that captures every single day.


And because these days we’re living
seem to vanish in a flash,
we need to make the most of
that special little dash.