The Past and the Future
There are a great number of themes of the Bible, which include God, Man, Satan, Sin, Salvation, Redemption and Love. Merely as literature, the Bible is supreme in its quantity and quality of themes. It satisfies the simple-minded and meets the expectations and desires of those exhibiting wisdom and calm judgment. Not to exclude any underlying topics of a discussion or a recurring idea in Holy Scriptures, the Bible presents facts of eternity-past, the issues of the present, and the realities of eternity to come. In previous posts we have considered the past as related aspects having valuable memories and remembrances for every faithful believer of God.
The Past
“I am the Alfa and Omega,” says the Lord God,” who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)
Backwardness. We begin to talk about eternity-past by being acquainted the meaning of backwardness. It does not mean toward a less advanced state or bashful and shy, but a direction toward the back or past. The past also involves the state of bearing in mind of a retained mental impression, a memory of a person, thing, or event.
Backwardness also can refer to a memorial, which can be an object that serves as a focus for memory of something, usually of a deceased person or an event. A memorial also helps to preserve remembrance, something by which the memory of a person or an event is kept alive. Backwardness can not only be kept alive but viewed as a ‘flash’ occurrence. The word flash means to move or pass very quickly. It is something immediate and intense such as a strike of lightning.
There is a kind of remembrance called a ‘flashback’. In literature, whether its poetry, prose or in television stories, a flashback (also called analepsis) is used. It is sometimes utilized to interject a scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. In other words, a flashback is action that interrupts the here and now to show a significant incident that took place at an earlier time.
Meditation as a Flashback
Meditation. Meditation has been practiced since antiquity in sets of beliefs which guides and governs a person’s attitudes. It is associated with several religions and philosophies of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
What are the gainful outcomes of meditation? In general terms, meditation may be performed for many reasons, such as to increase calmness and physical relaxation, to improve psychological balance, to cope with illness, or to enhance overall health and well-being.
Christians practice meditation similarly but in a deliberate faith-based manner that singularly relies upon foundational truths of Holy scripture. Followers of Jesus consciously flashback on the many spiritual realities and stories of faithful individuals recorded in the Bible.
One of the best examples of Christian mediation is to flashback to Hebrews 11. In this chapter, faith is described by the writer as a reality and proof of things unseen, treating them as if they were already objects of sight. He then illustrates faith’s value and power by reference to numerous instances of troubled Old Testament heroes who gained approval by God. As believers meditate and emulate on these loyal individuals, they too can experience approval as well as security, calmness and peace.
Most theologians believe that God uses situations and circumstances in our daily lives, such as troubles, to rapidly jumpstart our minds to remember God’s Son. If believers are experiencing hurtful episodes or anything that is producing anxiety in their daily life, like the heroes did as noted above, it seems reasonable that these troubling events energizes their thoughts to flashback to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
More on the topic of past, especially the use of Christian meditation and remembrances as a flashbacks.
Clay