Is Facebook smarter than platitude preachers?

Happy birthday Facebook!

If you’re on Facebook, you likely couldn’t miss the fact the social media giant is celebrating its tenth year of connecting people. To do so, they have made available to each member a short video looking back on their own personal content from when the member signed up.

After viewing my own little video supplied by Facebook, and those of several people I know, I actually found the look back to be quite touching. People post very personal and raw experiences on Facebook, and looking back provided a way of appreciating the journey and where we’re all at today.

It made me think that perhaps Facebook is a little smarter than those who constantly post and preach the message of “never look back!” Sorry, but you cannot adequately appreciate where you’re at, what you have and have accomplished, and what your new possibilities are, without routinely looking back. It’s by looking back that we gain a fuller context of our lives.

Looking back is also something Jesus instructed us to do regularly. In fact, Jesus wants us to make a practice out of looking back, all the way back to the cross …

“For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people — an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it,” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

Observing communion is kind of like our mini video of our connecting with God. Our reconciliation with God was made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and we keep ourselves on track in our walk with Him by constantly remembering the price Jesus paid to ransom us from sin and death.

The cross gives critical context to our lives, something we cannot have without routinely looking back.

When was the last time you looked back and remembered the great sacrifice Jesus Christ made on your behalf? Have you made it a practice to keep looking back at the cross?

Scotty