The Peril Of Looking Backward

There is the one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back, and is therefore not fit for the kingdom.

Luk 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

That is the backward look.

It is the look which Israel took in the wilderness. Psa 78:41  Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

They looked back and spoiled their furrow, they spoiled their whole course.

They failed to enter in simply because they looked in the wrong direction, that is, they looked back.

You know that that was one of the troubles in New Testament times.

The letter to the Galatians was written because of that peril. 

They were beginning to look back.

There was a voice from behind; the voice of the Judaizers was calling them from behind: ‘Come back’ not to the world, not to ungodliness, not to forsake Christ; but to come back to a religious life which was less than that fullness of Christ to which they had been called; to a religious life which was not a spiritual life.

They were in danger of looking back.

They had indeed already half looked back and had come to a standstill.

They had been going on, but now they had stopped going on, and the question was would they continue to go on or would they go back?

That letter was written to induce a going on. This letter to the Hebrews was written for the same purpose. 

The peril of a backward look is always there, in some way or another.

And then we are told of some people who looked around when they were commanded not to look around.

I think that is what Peter did.

When he was beginning to walk on the water he took his eyes off the Lord and looked around and he went down (Matthew 14:28-31).

His eyes changed their direction and he began to look around “WHEN HE SAW the wind” (verse 30).

That is what Israel did when the spies went out and came back with their wrong report.

They looked around walled cities, giants, all kinds of difficulties.

They looked around, they got their eyes off the LORD.

Only two of them kept their eyes in the right direction and they went through eventually to the end. “Look not around”.

That is, do not allow circumstances so to lay hold of your vision and to fasten upon your outlook that they control your movement.  

Let thine eyes look right on – not around.

~T. Austin Sparks~