Following God’s will comes at a price. When we turn our lives over to Christ, we are expected to put off our old selves, which belong to our former life, so we can be renewed in the Spirit (see Ephesians 4:22-24).

Following God should make us want to change our ways. We shouldn’t look back longingly at the person we were, or the life we are leaving behind. We should look forward, anticipating the person we need to become and the life we want to lead. If we hear God’s words but don’t do them, we are like a man who looks in the mirror and then forgets what he looks like when he walks away (James 1:22-24).

When we look at Scripture, we see examples of people who looked back at the life they were leaving. Most of them were looking back for the wrong reason, while at least one looked back on occasion for the right reason. Today we are going to take a look at some of these examples.

Looking Back Longingly

Old Testament Examples

When we think about people in Scripture who have looked back, the one that comes to everyone’s mind is Lot’s wife. She famously looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah when she and Lot were fleeing from the destruction, disobeying a specific order from the angels.

While speaking of the end times, Jesus used her as an example. Jesus told us to “remember Lot’s wife” as a warning not to turn around to go back after possessions (Luke 17:32). Lot’s wife was guilty of looking back longingly at what she was losing. The angels had to grab both her and Lot and pull them out of the doomed cities in the first place. They didn’t want to leave.

Lot’s sons-in-law refused to believe Lot. They decided they would rather ignore his warning and take their chances, instead of giving up the debauchery of the city.

Another example from the Old Testament is the nation of Israel during her desert wandering period. The people kept looking back fondly at their slavery in Egypt whenever they got hungry or thirsty. Their rationalization was that even though they were in bondage they were provided food and drink. No matter how many times God provided for them, they didn’t fully trust Him.

New Testament Examples

There are a few examples we can look at in the New Testament as well. There is the story of the rich man. When told he must give up all he had, he decided not to follow Christ because of his many possessions (Matthew 19:22, Mark 10:22). Then there is the man who wanted to say goodbye to his family before following Christ (Luke 9:61). We don’t know if this man ended up following Christ or if he went home. But we do know that his initial reaction was to look back towards home. These men put their worldly concerns first and following Christ second.

And finally, we have the story of Demas, who started out in the faith but abandoned Paul because he loved the world more (2 Timothy 4:10).

The Common Thread

What do these examples have in common? All of these people had a desire for something God wanted them to leave behind. They had something in their past life they wanted to cling to. They were looking back, instead of moving forward.

Some of them were so tied to worldly desires they didn’t even try to give them up, such as Lot’s sons-in-law and the rich man with many possessions. While others made the effort but gave in. The stories of Lot’s wife and Demas come to mind here.

These are the examples of people who looked back for the wrong reasons. Now we will look at one person who looked back on occasion for the right reason. This story shows us it is okay to remember the past in some cases. We don’t have to forget the past. We can learn from it, and we can use it to encourage others.

Looking Back, Moving Forward

There is a difference between longing for the past and simply remembering the past. We need to remember where we came from so we can see where we are going. This is the best way to judge how far we have come, and how far we still need to travel. When we look back at the past, it shouldn’t be with a desire to return. It should be as a reminder of where we don’t want to return, and how far God has taken us.

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul didn’t live in his past, but at the same time, he did on occasion look back to encourage others.

He wanted people to understand that if he could be accepted by God, we all can be accepted as well. It doesn’t matter what we have done.

Paul used his testimony in his epistles to show others that a “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” (1 Timothy 1:13) such as himself could be shown mercy by God. Looking back on his past in another instance, Paul said, “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison” (Acts 22:4).

Paul was looking back and using his past to show us an example of God’s mercy, grace, and love. He was not looking back with longing for what he gave up.

Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Once you come to the Lord, you should be looking forward. There is no looking back on your past life with longing.

We often hear people say not to look in the rear-view mirror, to keep our eyes focused on what’s ahead. For the most part this is good advice, but it depends on why you are looking in the mirror. If you are staring into the rear-view mirror and never looking forward, that is one thing. But if you are looking in the mirror at yourself to see how far you have come, that is another thing altogether.

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