Nostalgia. The good old days. Everything looks better in retrospect. The past is better, because the future is unknown and makes us uncomfortable. We cling to our traditions, and bite the hand that feeds us a challenge to the way we are. We are sheep, and sheep bite. When the temple foundation was laid, an interesting thing happened. It is recorded in Ezra 3. The older people, the ones who had seen the former temple, wept when they saw the new foundation. They had certain expectations. Their expectations where that things would be the same, like the good old days. The younger people, the ones who had never seen a temple, shouted for joy when the saw the foundation. The two groups of people were looking at the same exact thing but had totally different reactions. Those of us who have been in the Lord for many years should be careful to maintain a proper perspective and a vibrant trust and hope. You might think things will never change. Please do not become jaded or cynical. Please do not dampen the enthusiasm of one who is young in the Lord, or one who is hopeful in the Lord. Those disappointed with God have worldly expectations. These people are disappointed because they had been trusting God for things that he never promised—namely, to preserve them from pain and sorrow in this life. We need to have wordy expectations rather than worldly ones; an eternal perspective rather than a temporal one. It is always a matter of trust!
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David Bodanza is the pastor of Mission of Grace Church in Westborough, Massachusetts. He is also a practicing lawyer. He holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a J.D. from New England School of Law. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, four...