Is History Important?

Wait. Don't delete this article yet. I promise that there are no dates to memorize, essay questions to answer, or promotional material to enroll in history classes. This is about the importance of the actual history and what it means to us.

We are living through a period of time in which there has been a strong push to delete certain events from history, rewrite some historical events, and remove images that represent certain periods of history. Some of this emphasis has come from politicians who want to make our nation or themselves look better - in other words, ignore or erase the blemishes. Another group that has pushed for changes have been composed of individuals whose ancestors were victims of mistreatment or false accusations. On a narrower focus, most people would like some event or memory erased from their personal history.

Here are the realities regarding history:

• Removing evidence of historical happenings only removes images, film, or printed material recording the happenings. The memories of individuals who lived through those happenings remain. Individuals who experienced the Holocaust; those who survived the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; those who experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor; those who experienced the assassination of JFK; and those who watched and experienced the attack on September 11, 2001, will never forget even if all of those events were removed from all the history books and museums.

• Time machines do not exist to take us back in time to literally change history.

• History cannot be changed regardless of steps that people take to alter it.

• Each of us has been shaped in part by the history that we have studied and lived through. Rewriting history does not change who we are as individuals, nations, or races of people.

So, if we can't go back and change history, how are we to view it and treat it? Perhaps our best guide would be found in the Bible. As a believer and follower of Jesus, I believe that the Bible is the Word of God. God inspired the individuals who wrote down the content in the Bible to write it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly (my apologies to Clint Eastwood for borrowing one of his western movie titles for this illustration). When you read through the entire Bible, not just favorite verses or passages, you discover that some great events are recorded but also many bad and even ugly events are also included. God made sure that we realize that neither we nor our Biblical heroes are perfect. Truth contains celebration, mourning, grace, mercy, evil, pain, birth, and death.

God intended that the nation of Israel would have a complete record of all of its history. From that history, they would learn that God had provided for them and delivered them from their enemies, numerous times. At the same time, the accounts in the Bible also contained the failures and sins of the people and their disobedience to God and His commandments. Often, the Bible tells the people to be sure and tell their children and future generations of God's blessings and forgiveness for their sins. One expectation of history is that we learn from our mistakes, our sins, and find blessings when we live in obedience to God.

The history of our own nation is filled with celebration and with embarrassment. We are not perfect by any means. We are not different from the people of Israel in the Bible. We, too, have our good, our bad, and our ugly that compose our history. Should we ignore the history recorded in the Bible? Should we ignore our own current history? Or should we pay attention, learn, repent, and renew our commitments to living in ways that both honor God by loving one another, by caring for one another, and by allowing God to be the one true leader and Lord in our lives.

You and I are who we are. Is there hope for us? Absolutely. That hope was made possible by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. God gave us Jesus that all who might believe may have eternal life. We find forgiveness for our bad and ugly through confession and repentance from our sins. We have hope and reason to celebrate because, while we are not perfect, our Lord God is. God has revealed to us an unchanged history of His work to save us.

History is important. Its importance should not be blemished by providing only a partial or a changed or deleted account. Learn from history - all of it. Grow in maturity and integrity by avoiding the mistakes of the past and living in the truth of God. Leave an honest and better place for our children and future generations. Celebrate what God has done.