Monday, April 8, 2019


Rearview Mirror
By Susan Klein

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”


Whenever I get into my car after my husband has driven it, I need to adjust the rearview mirror. He has 9 inches on me in height, so our vision fields are not quite the same. The earliest of cars were not even equipped with rearview mirrors. Thus, people could only focus on the road ahead, not behind. In her 1909 book, The Woman and the Car, British racing driver Dorothy Levitt noted that women should "carry a little hand-mirror in a convenient place when driving" so they may "hold the mirror aloft from time to time in order to see behind while driving in traffic". [1] Yikes!

We all glance at our rearview mirrors from time to time, partly out of habit, but mostly to be safe. Yet, how much time are we spending looking behind us in life? Some might gaze forlornly into the mirrors of their past, weighed down by former sin and struggles that continue to grip them. The enemy would like nothing better than to keep us backwardly focused. That way, we might not see the forgiveness and love that God so freely holds out in front of us. On the other end of the spectrum, some haphazardly race on ahead into their futures. Completely forgetting about, and not always learning from, what happened in their past.

Many times in the Old Testament, we hear God telling the Israelites to remember what He has done for them. How He has delivered them and continues to provide for them. Likewise, in the New Testament we often hear Paul, Jesus and others admonishing people to remember what happened with their forefathers - - to learn from their errors and trust God. Our personal rearview mirrors not only provide a reminder of past mistakes, but all the good God has done as well. We need not look back mournfully.

Keep in mind that there is a reason why the standard rearview mirror is only about 9 inches wide, and a standard windshield is five or six times that amount. While we are to check our small mirror periodically, the majority of our time should be focused on the big window (of what God is doing) immediately ahead of us.



GOING DEEPER:
1. Might you have a foggy mirror or a dirty windshield that needs cleaning so you can see better?
2. How can you use your personal rearview mirror to aide you in moving forward?

FURTHER READING:

Susan is married to Mark, and co-leads an in-home small group. She serves as a mentor to young women, and is a member of Oakwood’s Peace Team, helping people work through conflict.