Past Commentary by a Common Terry
The past is important
May 24, 2026
It’s a fool’s endeavor to ignore or cancel the past. History exists whether it is acknowledged or not. If a revisionist today decides to change the facts and events of the past, that doesn’t change history. It changes the impact of history.
How history is perceived, reported, and remembered...well, that’s an ongoing process. The rule is that history is written by the victors. The version of history remembered is usually constructed so that a favorable light is cast on the featured participants. One of the remarkable aspects of the Bible and the history it presents is how candidly the Bible characters are portrayed. There are amazing victories but there are also brutal failures and embarrassments, sometimes by the same ones we laud and commend.
The triumphs of the past are vital to the fabric of today and tomorrow. So are the defeats. We learn as much from failure (maybe more) than we do from success. The sting of a recalled loss can be much more intense than the satisfaction that comes with a past win. As much as we like reexperiencing something pleasant, the drive created by the need to avoid misery can be even more powerful.
There’s room for both.
When the Hebrew nation entered the Promised Land as the Jordan River parted (during flood season), a stone memorial was built. Twelve stones, left at the location of their first night on the Promised Land side of the river. They would retell the story of how God brought the nation to the land. The waters were parted. (Joshua 4:1-8)
Just three chapters later, in Joshua 7, there is another pile of rocks; a reminder of something terrible. The Jews overran Jericho, the Canaanite stronghold. But the next day they were routed by little insignificant Ai, a town about as small as its name. The reason? Achan took items from Jericho that were banned from the people. They were items devoted to God. He brought sin into the camp, and the nation paid the price.
Once Achan’s sin was revealed and the hidden treasure uncovered, he and his family were stoned to death and a great heap of stones piled on top of them and their possessions. Joshua 7:26 says that it was a, “...great heap of stones that remains to this day.” History. Remembrance. Lessons to be learned and not forgotten. The past is a harsh, effective, necessary teacher.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day for our nation. It is certainly appropriately named. It is to be a day in which the nation remembers the past and those that shaped it. Lives dedicated and lives lost. A price paid for something valuable. “Never Forget” are the two words most associated with Memorial Day. When we forget the sacrifice, we lose sight of the value of what was bought with that sacrifice.
We have the ultimate “the past is important” experience every time we share the Lord’s Supper. This communion, far from common, is a reminder of the worst and the best of human history. The worst is the catalog of sins throughout humankind’s story. Sin separated us from God and there is absolutely nothing we can do to bridge the gap unless God provides access. That, then, is the best part of communion. Divine flesh and blood represented in bread and juice, reminding us of the most extraordinary moment in human history: the death of a Savior followed by the proof of life through His resurrection.
We learn so much from history. Let’s keep the lesson of humanity’s failures so that we can adequately measure God’s success in cancelling those failures. He did not gloss over the sins of the people. He eliminated them. Our history is a two-edged sword. It is filled with the worst and best of us. The worst we have done is woven into our story and, well, that’s on us. It’s our doing. The best is God’s actions, drawing us close to His side as he restores us to a relationship with Him that we must have.
Every day is another page in the narrative of our history. Our history will culminate with life, not death. Victory, not defeat. Cleansing, not filth. Innocence, not guilt. I am completely at peace with the realization that God will write my story. It will be accurate and true. It will be attached to the story of His Son, my Savior, and tell how He changed my doomed outcome.
The future is important. So is the past.
How history is perceived, reported, and remembered...well, that’s an ongoing process. The rule is that history is written by the victors. The version of history remembered is usually constructed so that a favorable light is cast on the featured participants. One of the remarkable aspects of the Bible and the history it presents is how candidly the Bible characters are portrayed. There are amazing victories but there are also brutal failures and embarrassments, sometimes by the same ones we laud and commend.
The triumphs of the past are vital to the fabric of today and tomorrow. So are the defeats. We learn as much from failure (maybe more) than we do from success. The sting of a recalled loss can be much more intense than the satisfaction that comes with a past win. As much as we like reexperiencing something pleasant, the drive created by the need to avoid misery can be even more powerful.
There’s room for both.
When the Hebrew nation entered the Promised Land as the Jordan River parted (during flood season), a stone memorial was built. Twelve stones, left at the location of their first night on the Promised Land side of the river. They would retell the story of how God brought the nation to the land. The waters were parted. (Joshua 4:1-8)
Just three chapters later, in Joshua 7, there is another pile of rocks; a reminder of something terrible. The Jews overran Jericho, the Canaanite stronghold. But the next day they were routed by little insignificant Ai, a town about as small as its name. The reason? Achan took items from Jericho that were banned from the people. They were items devoted to God. He brought sin into the camp, and the nation paid the price.
Once Achan’s sin was revealed and the hidden treasure uncovered, he and his family were stoned to death and a great heap of stones piled on top of them and their possessions. Joshua 7:26 says that it was a, “...great heap of stones that remains to this day.” History. Remembrance. Lessons to be learned and not forgotten. The past is a harsh, effective, necessary teacher.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day for our nation. It is certainly appropriately named. It is to be a day in which the nation remembers the past and those that shaped it. Lives dedicated and lives lost. A price paid for something valuable. “Never Forget” are the two words most associated with Memorial Day. When we forget the sacrifice, we lose sight of the value of what was bought with that sacrifice.
We have the ultimate “the past is important” experience every time we share the Lord’s Supper. This communion, far from common, is a reminder of the worst and the best of human history. The worst is the catalog of sins throughout humankind’s story. Sin separated us from God and there is absolutely nothing we can do to bridge the gap unless God provides access. That, then, is the best part of communion. Divine flesh and blood represented in bread and juice, reminding us of the most extraordinary moment in human history: the death of a Savior followed by the proof of life through His resurrection.
We learn so much from history. Let’s keep the lesson of humanity’s failures so that we can adequately measure God’s success in cancelling those failures. He did not gloss over the sins of the people. He eliminated them. Our history is a two-edged sword. It is filled with the worst and best of us. The worst we have done is woven into our story and, well, that’s on us. It’s our doing. The best is God’s actions, drawing us close to His side as he restores us to a relationship with Him that we must have.
Every day is another page in the narrative of our history. Our history will culminate with life, not death. Victory, not defeat. Cleansing, not filth. Innocence, not guilt. I am completely at peace with the realization that God will write my story. It will be accurate and true. It will be attached to the story of His Son, my Savior, and tell how He changed my doomed outcome.
The future is important. So is the past.