Christian Living

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The Value of Looking Back
By Dan Langerock

I have learned at college to look behind me when I am leaving a room to check if I have left anything. It seems I invariably leave my coat, printer card or something else almost every week.

The same principle is true in our lives. We are so busy all the time, we may not comprehend when we hurt someone or have left something vital undone. Here are a few suggestions to look back upon as the year 2004 is ending:

Unforgiveness

Have you hurt someone this year? Has someone hurt you and you are having a hard time forgiving him or her? The longer you carry this state of unforgiveness around, the more it will hurt you in every way. Resolve to extinguish the flames of hurt in your life as quickly as possible so you will have a great new year.

Blessings

Have you ever sat down to recount your blessings of the past year? A lot of people concentrate on the negative side, complaints that they have, rather than blessings. How would your outlook change if you remembered your blessings rather than the negatives that have happened to you?

Example

What kind of example have you been to grandchildren and others in your sphere of influence this past year and beyond? Is it something to be proud of or the opposite? You can rectify these things as you look back, if you want to.

Spiritual Growth

Have you grown closer to God this past year or have you become more alienated from Him? Be honest with yourself in your analysis. Judge what you are evaluating not with your standards but with God’s if you really want the truth. Have you sought out fellowship with other believers or crawled into a shell of isolation? Have you read your Bible more or less this past year? These are but a couple of the questions you can ask?

Personal Growth

Have you sought to stretch your horizons this past year? Maybe taken a class, volunteered somewhere or sought to encourage those around you? Have the scales tipped more on the side of complaining than looking for the positives in your life? Some people always complain no matter what happens. Are you one of these?

Think about these categories and add some other questions to the list provided here. It will enrich your life if you will look back, not with condemnation, but with an eye to changing your life for the better. It takes a conscious choice to look at your life and evaluate it honestly, but you can do it.

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