Things I Wish My Family Knew

April 13, 2025
By Iam Kerr with assistance from ChatGPT

How should we live if we believe in a sovereign God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who lovingly ordains all things for the good of His people?

The answer begins by looking backward—not to dwell in the past, but to define life in light of the end God has already secured. To “define life backwards” is to orient our identity and purpose from eternity. It is to build the foundation of our daily lives on the reality of what Christ has accomplished and where He is taking us. Sinclair Ferguson, in his commentary on the book of James, suggests that we are to “see life from the perspective of the future, and as it were to live it forwards from the future.” In a Christian context, that future is not wishful thinking; it is certain and glorious—anchored in the finished work of Christ and the unchanging love of the Father.

The Christian does not drift aimlessly, nor live reactively. We are pilgrims, called by grace, redeemed by blood, and destined for glory. Romans 8:30 reminds us, “Those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” In God’s eternal view, the end is as secure as the beginning—and as such, He is sovereign over everything that happens in between. Unlike us, God is never surprised, never uncertain, never shaken by the twists and turns of time.

This perspective is what allows the Christian to do something the world finds utterly strange—what James 1:2–4 calls us to: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” We are not joyful because of the pain, but because of the purpose. Our trials are not meaningless—they are instruments in the hand of a loving and sovereign God, shaping us into the likeness of Christ. The one who defines life backwards understands that even the trials of today are moving us toward the perfection and completeness God has ordained for us in eternity.

This is the same kind of faith we see in Job, whose life was shattered in a moment—his children taken, his wealth destroyed, his body afflicted. His wife, watching him suffer, said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job answered, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:9–10). In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

📘 Sidebar: What Does “Evil” Mean in Job 2:10?
The Hebrew word translated “evil” (ra‘ah) in Job 2:10 often means “disaster,” “calamity,” or “adversity.” Job is not accusing God of sinning, but acknowledging God’s sovereign right to bring both comfort and hardship. Reformed theology affirms that while God is not the author of sin, He sovereignly ordains and uses adversity for His good purposes. As Isaiah 45:7 says, “I make well-being and create calamity.”

Job’s reply is not fatalism—it is reverent trust. He does not understand God’s reasons, but he knows God’s character. He does not define life by his circumstances but by the sovereign goodness of the One who gives and takes away (cf. Job 1:21). This is the faith that allows the Christian to rejoice in trials, trust through tears, and wait with hope.

We, however, often begin with confidence in the outcome—full of hope, energized by calling—but as life unfolds, we grow distracted or disheartened. Setbacks, delays, and failures whisper that the promised end may not come after all. But the problem is not the promise; the problem is where we’ve fixed our eyes. We’ve taken them off the end—and off the Giver of that end. When we forget that He governs the middle as surely as He ordained the beginning and the end, we begin to lose heart. But faith reminds us: the One who began the good work will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Interpreting Life in Light of Eternity

When a believer suffers, he does not despair. When he succeeds, he does not place his hope in fleeting accomplishments. Every moment—joy or pain—is reinterpreted by the eternal good that God is working in and through it. Life makes sense backwards: the cross explains the crown; the trials prepare the soul; the setbacks refine the heart.

This is the mindset of the Apostle Paul, who declared in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” Paul does not minimize suffering—he redefines value. Knowing Christ and becoming like Him are of such infinite worth that every earthly gain or loss becomes secondary. When Christ is our treasure, suffering does not steal meaning—it sharpens our longing for the eternal.

Defining life backwards means asking not merely “What do I want right now?” but “What will matter forever?” It means seeing our sanctification in suffering, seeing purpose in pain, and seeing Christ as the constant in every change.

Living It Forwards: Eyes on the Savior

To live forwards is to walk by faith, trusting in the God who defined our end and walks with us in the present. This is beautifully illustrated in Matthew 14:28–31, when Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and says:

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus replied, “Come.”

Peter steps out of the boat and begins walking toward Jesus. But then,

“he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

This moment captures the essence of what it means to live forwards. Peter wasn’t safe because the water was calm—he was safe because Jesus had called him. But he “saw the wind,” a striking phrase, since wind is invisible. What he really saw were its effects: the waves, the noise, the threat. He allowed what he could not see to define how he interpreted what he could see. He took his eyes off the Savior and focused on the storm.

How often do we do the same? We know our calling, we know our end, but then we “see the wind”—the illness, the financial stress, the broken relationship. And we begin to sink. Yet, Peter did the most faithful thing he could in that moment: he cried out, “Lord, save me!” And immediately, Jesus reached out His hand.

The God who defines the end of our story is the same God who reaches into the storm to hold us fast.

Eyes Fixed on Eternity

To live forwards, then, is not a passive hope—it is an active faith. It is to live each day with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). It is to interpret every moment in light of eternity. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:18:

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

This shapes our decisions, our relationships, and our responses. We forgive because we’ve been forgiven. We serve because Christ served us. We endure because glory is coming. We walk not by sight, but by faith—faith in the One who loves us, who holds us, and who has already declared the end from the beginning.

Conclusion

If we define life backwards and live it forwards, we will see our circumstances through the lens of God’s eternal purposes. We will walk with steadiness, not because the road is smooth, but because the destination is secure.

This is our hope: God is sovereign. God is good. And God loves those He has chosen. Nothing that happens to us is random, wasted, or outside His plan. All that happens is for our good—every joy, every trial, every turn—and such an outcome can be bested by no other.