Hebrews 8:1-6 | What's the lesson for me today?

Has it ever amazed you how quickly you can forget about the struggles of the past and look through nostalgic goggles? It seems that as I get further away from some of life's most difficult events, I tend toward the thought that everything was not that bad. In fact, I end up missing some of what was there. We miss what is in the past. Many of us tend to think of them as betters days than today.

I remember sitting with a group of older men. They were reminiscing about the past and how things used to be. Finally one of them looks to the group and says, "I just wish we knew then that we were in the good ol' days." One of the older of the group offers a gentle rebuke, quoting Scripture.

Do not say,
    “Why were the former days better than these?”
    For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
-Ecclesiastes 7:10

He proceeded to ask about the individual's growth in his faith and his walk with the Lord. "Is it really worth losing all of that to go back to a different time?" The other man replied simply, "No, it is not."

I learned a lot of lessons from these older men. But one of them having to be caution with nostalgia. Israel became quickly nostalgic after the Exodus. They wanted to go back to Egypt so they could have their food. The flesh often wants to go back to the way things were, but seldom is that the correct route to go.

Scripture is showing us in Hebrews 8 that there is a better covenant built upon better promises. We ought to remember this fact and realize that if we are to compare the covenant we have in Christ, as well as the promises of Christ, with anything they will be infinitely better than what it is compared with. We may not be drawing back to the old covenant, but do we long for a different time than what we have now? Life may be harder now than it ever has been before. In my own life, I feel like the fiery furnace has been turned up tenfold. But I am further along and more solidified in my faith than I have ever been. The tradeoff to go back or even to look backward is not worth it. So instead I will lean on a better covenant and better promises.

What lesson are you taking from today's passage?