2012? Really? I never thought I'd live to see this day! Wasn't this thing supposed to be over in 1988 when some guy wrote that book "88 Reasons Why the Lord Will Return in 1988" (this was one consecrated 12 year old, let me tell you). Then it was all supposed to be over in 1991 with the first Gulf War (this was also a very strong spiritual season in my life, I might add). Who could forget about Y2K? The worldwide computer and satellite infrastructure was supposed to implode and the world, as we knew it, would be over. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's pretty close!
Regardless, I'm glad that 2012 is here. A new day, a new season, a fresh start has begun in so many ways. Sadly, many are still milling around in 2011 or beyond. The best way I can describe this is to relate what happened to our dear friend, Marty McFly. In 1985, the mild-mannered Marty encountered the new invention of his close friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, or "Doc" for short. Doc invented a time machine made out of a DeLorean sports car that could travel through time instantaneously once it reached a speed of 88 mph. Sadly, on the night of the big breakthrough, Doc is gunned down by Libyan nationalists and Marty is warped into 1955 while trying to escape the Libyans himself. Marty was thrust right into the middle of the past. He actually encountered his parents "pre-Marty" and had a chance to experience a completely different time and era, otherwise unknown to him. Pretty cool right? Well, this grand story was actually a fictional tale, which was made into a Motion Picture, entitled "Back to the Future."
Think about it! Wouldn't it be cool to travel back in time? Revisit old mistakes and "fix" things that went wrong. Marty soon discovered that what sounded good in principal could actually have tragic consequences when attempted to be corrected by human hands. The premise of this fictional tale was Marty realized the longer he stayed in the past, the more treacherous the future became. It jeopardized his very existence. The apex of this tale was when Marty realized he needed to leave the past and get "Back to the Future." The more he toiled, labored and lived in the past, the more costly and uncertain his future became. It's been said many times that some things work "only in the movies." Well, living in the past doesn't even work in the movies.
Sadly, we all have a little Marty in us from time to time. Toiling, laboring, and even living in the past. We'd love to welcome the new and inviting season of 2012 if we could just un-hitch this 50lb. gorilla off our back called "2011." It's been said countless times that the windshield in a car is infinitely larger than the rearview mirror for a reason. You cannot successfully and/or safely move forward with your focus on what's behind. Without a forward focus, you are a danger to not only yourself but to everyone you encounter on the road of life. I don't think Paul ever owned a car but he understood this truth when he penned the words "...I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Phil 3:13-14 NLT).
Paul knew a little about letting go of the past. I mean seriously, here is the largest persecutor "of" the church who is now the greatest preacher "in" the church. You think you struggle with overcoming your past? Paul knew it would be impossible to reach forward if he was constantly looking behind. After his encounter on the road to Damascus and his experience of receiving the Holy Ghost recorded in Acts 9, Paul could confidently pen the words "…if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor 5:17) Paul discovered that he didn't have to revisit the past because it had passed away.
So, on this New Year, the best thing each of us could do is have a funeral for 2011. Let it "pass away." Yes, if we are honest, we can admit we made mistakes and did some things we regret in 2011. Don't re-live it. Accept the consequences. Learn from it. Repent. Put it under the blood of Jesus Christ. Move forward. Resist the urge to fire up the spiritual DeLorean and hastily speed back to the past. Let's get "Back to the Future" and die out to the old and live the new. Just ask Marty. Your very existence depends on it.
