A trip to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg can be emotionally overwhelming. A recent visit there with my students left the videos, the photos, the maps and diagrams, the words of brave fighting men even more engrained in my memory.
While there last weekend, I ran into a gentleman I’ve known a long time. He is one of the few remaining survivors of the Bataan Death March in 1942.
He’s had an experience I’ll never understand, but from what I know of it, I hope I never have a similar one. Knowing something about the march though makes me appreciate so much what those people went through for the cost of freedom.
After we returned home one of my students posted this quote on his Facebook profile, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
I’m impressed that he posted such a quote for his peers to see. It’s a statement from George Santayana, a Spanish-American philosopher.
Now Santayana was not a Christian and didn’t have any Christian-themed overtone in his statement. But what he says about the future repeating the past is true in many areas of life.
Certainly it’s true in the Christian life. Paul puts it like this for the early Christians in Romans 15:4: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
My blended translation with Santayana goes like this, “If we don’t take time to remember what has happened in the past, we will find ourselves back in that same position again wondering what happened to us.
"But if we remember the Old Testament's stories of faith, the plan of God, the power of Christ and the sacrifices of men and women who died for their faith, then we will know who we are today and have hope. ”
History birthed tradition which gives us identity. I believe that right now our young people are missing their identity.
They are missing identity in Christ and as the church of Christ. Parents, ministers and youth ministers – please continue to teach history.
It’s important to address peer pressure (but it works so much better in the context of the story of Job). Address drinking and immoral behavior (note the broken lives of Hosea, Ahab, Samson and many more).
While I’ll be first to admit not all traditions are good, tradition does gives us identity – identity gives us purpose and relevancy in a very mixed up world.
To interact with Jeff regarding the contents of this article, log on to www.christiannewsst.org.
Also visit www.facebook.com and look for the group on South Texas Church History.
Jeff Tacker serves as Editor for the writing team of CNOST. He also serves as a Campus Minister at Christian Academy of San Antonio. He is married to the former Sheri Wells of San Antonio. They have three children. The family attends the Northwest Church of Christ in San Antonio.
Comment here: