Topical Tuesday 29 - Call of Duty Season

Call of Duty: Black Ops came out today and Twitter and Facebook were all abuzz. I was even reading tweets from people waiting in line for a midnight release so they could play it as soon as legally possible. As I laid down to go to sleep an hour before the game released at midnight, I realized that I’m not in my early 20s anymore and my life is significantly different than it was at the turn of the millennium.

In 2002 I would have been standing in line at midnight, waiting to get my hands on the newest and greatest video game. Even three years ago when Halo 3 came out, I was standing outside Gamestop until midnight, waiting to get my hands on Master Chief’s final fight. Now, though, with a career and a wife, those days seem so far away. The days of 5 hour gaming marathons that begin at 10:00pm are long gone; that’s just not my life anymore. And even though I love my life now, when I see a bunch of 21 and 22-year-olds staying up late playing video games, it makes me think fondly on that part of my life.

There’s a difference between thinking fondly on a period and attempting to recreate that period. When we try to recreate a period of time or a season of our lives, we end up neglecting our present for a past that can never occur again.

I often feel this way about ministry.

Six years ago I was in the middle of an amazing season of ministry, working alongside some of my best friends and making a difference for God’s kingdom. That was an amazing season but it’s gone; it can never happen again. And instead of thinking about those days and trying to recreate them in my current ministry context, I need see what new thing God wants to do today. I’m on a great team and God wants to use us to make a difference for his kingdom. Why would I hold onto the past when God has an amazing present and future already laid out?

What part of your past do you think about holding onto?