There is one thing that I have little patience with and thats when people start talking about the good old days and how we need to bring them back. I'm in good company in this. It seems that God has little patience with this either. In Ecclesiastes 7:10 we read, "Do not say, 'Why were the old days better than these?' For it is not wise to ask such questions." Not only is it not wise, but it is disastrous when ministering to emerging adults.
About nostalgia, Will Rogers once said, "Things ain't what they used to be and probably never was." Former UN Ambassador George Wildman Ball went straight to the point when he said, "Nostalgia is a selective liar." But perhaps Billy Joel said it best, "The good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow's not as bad as it seems." But worst of all, nostalgia forgets that time is a river. Each moment is unique, and there is no stepping back. To yearn for what cannot return just makes you sad, bitter, and ultimately hopeless.
Sin has been at work since Adam and Eve tried to become their own gods. Each generation looked nostalgically back to a illusionary,simpler time. Grumbling would appear to be an inalienable right of each generation if weren't for the fact that God calls us to stop complaining (Phil 2:14). There's nothing wrong with becoming old men (some say it can bring wisdom), but there is something wrong with becoming bitter, complaining, grumbling old men who are always talking about how good it used to be. God says it's foolish and to be avoided. In other words, such behavior is godless.
It's also uninspiring. The world is full of sin. It has been since the fall. It is into this world that we are called to minister the gospel and work to build the Kingdom of God. That work cannot be completed without the return of Jesus, but that doesn't mean that progress can't be made in the meantime. Too many students have heard that they turned up too late. All the good work of God is done, and it's all downhill from here. That may sound good to the hard and the bitter, but it only convinces the young that they need to find their inspiration elsewhere.
Nostalgia also makes it hard to hear from God. He works to meet the needs of every generation in the situation they find themselves in. There are great things that God has done in the past, and I can learn a great deal from them, but I don't expect him to work the same way in new situations. Jesus warned us that new grace requires new wineskins. His character is eternal, so I can count on that. On the other hand, God is creative. He will work differently to address different problems, different sins, different generations. We need to look forward to what God is building and not just backward to what he has already built. Too many past movements followed God as he revealed new wineskins only to later fold their arms and declare that what they experienced was the last word from God.
The question that is most asked on campus today is, what difference does Jesus really make in the world today? If we are looking backward and only find our hope there, then our answer has to be that Jesus makes no real difference. On the other hand, if we listen to Jesus, then we believe that he still changes lives and through changed lives transforms communities, and through changed communities transforms nations, and we have hope to inspire a new generation.
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