going back to go forward?

Lewis today tells us in A Year with C.S. Lewis  that sometimes it's necessary to go back in order to go forward.

He says that we've lost our way in the world today. And he has a point. The world that Lewis describes is that of WWII, when the "advances" of the human race meant liquidating over six million Jewish people. In order to get out of that kind of "advancement", we DID have to return to our thinking before eugenics took that monstrous turn. And we did.

Here is another (somewhat humorous) example of going back to the original idea in order to advance.

But I don't think this is usually the case. I think that Tolkien does a better job describing the normal way that these things transpire. In Silmarillion, Tolkien tells a story of a great composer who creates a masterpiece. He is leading a group of angels in singing this work of art, when one of the singers decides he wants more attention for himself. So he starts singing a different part than that given him by the composer. He creates discord in the song.

But the composer is a genius. He adjusts the song, incorporating the tune by the wayward angel in a way that creates an even more beautiful song than before.

I think this is what God normally does. He doesn't call us to go back. He calls us to keep following Him into the future, where He is constantly working the tunes by sinners everywhere into His beautiful composition, made even more beautiful by the "happy faults" that even the most prideful of us throw into the mix.

God is just that good.

Thank You, God, for redeeming us, whether that means backing up or following You into the future.