Mater is a Genius

I was driving six hours by myself back in February (remember that meet-up, Wendy? So good!! We need to do it again!), and during that trip I happened to notice that sometimes the sights in rearview mirror are very interesting. Entrancing, even. I found myself fascinated at how the road wound and disappeared behind me, almost like a spool of thread that was being unraveled. I had to keep reminding myself to look out the front window, or I would’ve surely wrecked the van! (Not to mention the fact that the weather was less than perfect. And I don’t even want to think about how close we are to that kind of weather again.)

[Insert dramatic Anne of Green Gables sigh here]

Our spiritual journey has many times been compared to traveling on a road. And that is an appropriate metaphor. I mean, it’s called a journey, for pity’s sake. When we first meet Christ, we take off down the highway at full speed, excited to learn more about this new relationship with God, happy to see changes in ourselves. And as we grow, we are admonished to keep moving forward. (Annual New Year’s sermon about being ‘forward’ a year ago, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)

Did you know that in the Bible there are twelve distinct definitions for the word ‘forward’? It can mean anything from ‘start on a journey’ to ‘more earnest, more diligent’. Of course those aren’t all going to apply to our discussion today, but some will. (Can it be called a discussion if I’m here by myself typing?)

Anyway- moving forward is never mentioned in scripture as a bad thing. We should absolutely try to let go of past hurts and frustrations, and work toward healing and wholeness. (Shalom!) But sometimes we move forward too fast, and we totally put out of our minds the things we’ve been through, so we end up hitting the same potholes again and again, damaging our car and popping our tires.

Or we’re so focused on moving forward that we forget the past works of the Lord- and when we face new trials and temptations we don’t see how He could possibly make a way for us.

The Bible does call us to forget things that are behind and press forward.
Philippians 3:13-14 Forgetting those things which are behind…
Isaiah 43:18-19 Remember not the former things…
2 Cor. 5:17 …old things are passed away…
Luke 9:59-62 No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Let us run with patience the race that is set before us…

But it also calls us to remember the works of the Lord, and talk about them.
Psalm 77:11-12 I will remember the works of the Lord…
Deut. 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee…
1 Chronicles 16:12 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
Psalm 105:2-5 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
Psalm 63:6 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: (6) When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Psalm 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Though we see these scriptures remind us to think back on all the good God has done in our lives, we can’t live so focused on the past that all the testimonies we have to share are from twenty years ago when we went on a missions trip. Or used to do street preaching. Or start off ‘back in the good old days…’ when you were fired up and in full surrender. Most of us tend to see the past through rose colored glasses, anyway, especially if we long for those days to come back to us. We tend to gloss over the negatives, and only remember the good. But we are also supposed to be keeping our eyes open for what God would want to do in and through us now.

How are we supposed to effectively balance those two things? I’m so glad you asked.

Enter the genius of Mater.

Mater is super skilled at driving backwards. He looks in his rearview mirror, and drives ‘forward’ while in reverse. He has crazy joy while he does so, and it has become easy for him to do this. (Watch the video if you want to smile for a second, but maybe turn down the volume just a tad. Or more than a tad.)

We tend to try and do the opposite of Mater, don’t we? We glue our eyes to the rearview mirror, and while watching what is behind us, we leave the car in drive, and keep trying to move forward. But since we can’t see where we’re going, we run into things. We hit potholes. We crash into other people. We miss a curve and run off the road.

What we should do instead, is, like Mater, drive forward with an eye on our rearview mirror. That way we’re heading in the right direction, looking forward to what God can do, but with an eye on the past to remind us of what He has already done.

We also see from Mater that this is a learned behavior. It isn’t something he just knew how to do. When Lightning asks how he does it, he tells him “Rearview mirrors. We’ll get you some, and I’ll teach you if you want.” When we figure out how to navigate this life in balance between past and future, we should offer to teach others how to do it. It can be tricky, this navigating. It’s great to have someone who has been there, and knows how to do it, show us what to do.

At first we may react like Lightning did, saying “they’re crazy”- and believe they have no idea what they’re doing- until we see it in action. We see them have joy in hard circumstances because they trust that God will lead them through to the other side. We see them continue to serve God, even when things haven’t panned out in their life the way they hoped. We see their willingness to come alongside other people who are struggling in ways they’ve experienced, and offer support and encouragement.

And we see them choose joy, and trust, and truly believe that God has good intentions, and that nothing we leave in the Father’s hands is wasted. Everything can be redeemed. They believe with all their heart the scripture in 1 Corinthians 1:9-10 “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: (10) Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;“

Lord help me to remember all the ways You’ve worked on my behalf in the past. And as I continue forward in my faith journey, help me keep my eye on past victories that I might have joy, and trust that You are working all things for my good, so that I might encourage others along the road.