On mornings like this, it helps to look beyond the horizon. I know the forecast called for snow, but I just wasn’t mentally prepared for it. Neither was Tori, who went outside (briefly), came in, shook herself off, ate breakfast, looked outside, and then returned to her bowl and demanded a second breakfast. I get it, Tori. Some days call for second breakfasts.
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” (Charles Dickens; A Tale of Two Cities).
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
(C. S. Lewis; The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis).
Both of these are hopeful lines, and they touch something deep in us. Most people, at one time or another, wonder whether the best days of life are already behind them. Most people, at some time, wonder if there is life after this life and what it will look like.
We’re naturally nostalgic creatures. We remember our childhoods as better, or at least less demanding, days. We remember events in our lives where newness made us feel more alive. We reminisce about “the way things used to be.”
But the Gospel gently nudges our gaze in another direction.
The life of faith is not meant to be lived looking backward. The apostle Paul writes, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal.” (Philippians 3:13–14).
Faith is meant to be lived forward-facing.
This doesn’t mean the past has no value. Gratitude for what God has done is part of the life of faith. Tradition is part of the foundation of faith. But the Kingdom of God is always arriving. God is always doing something new, often quietly and unnoticed, in our world, in our lives, and in our church.
Jesus said God’s Kingdom is like a mustard seed slowly becoming a tree. In other words, the most important work of God may not look impressive at first glance.
The Kingdom rarely announces itself with loud trumpets. More often, it slips quietly into the world, disguised as ordinary grace. A small act of kindness. A quiet prayer. A decision to try something new when the outcome is uncertain.
Which means Dickens and Lewis may be closer to the truth than we realize.
There are, indeed, better things ahead—because the God who leads us is always moving our stories toward restoration and redemption. The next chapter of grace may already be unfolding, just beyond the horizon.
Prayer: Faithful God, when I’m tempted to cling too tightly to the past, help me trust that you are at work on my future. Give me eyes to see the quiet ways your Kingdom is growing and the courage to follow where you are leading. When I feel like my best days may be behind me, remind me of the wonder that is to come. Amen.
