Looking back to look forward

Is there a benefit to looking backwards — to evaluating the past in anticipation of setting goals for the future?

Thinking not of individuals, but of the church, Stephen Nichols offers this insightful thought —

The study of church history may be best viewed as a second-order discipline.  It is subservient to our study of the Bible and the central defining figure unfolded in its pages — Christ.  It is, however, a significant story.  It reminds us that the community of believers (those united to Christ) is a group of people who are, in the words of Augustine, simultaneously sinners and saints, who have experienced triumphs and challenges, victories and setbacks.  It reminds us that we in the twenty-first century are not alone, that we belong to something much bigger than we, even in our collective, global strength.  Again, church history is a second-order discipline.  Nevertheless, it is one that we neglect to our own disservice, for we are a people with a past.  And as we connect with our past, our souls grow deeper like a river, carving its contours as it runs.

Applying this thought individually — as we embark on a new year, what is of central importance is the knowledge of the Word of God and Christ, yet that knowledge will be better understood by a careful examination of the history of the church in general, and the history of our own lives and God’s providential working in us individually, in particular.