What is it about the past that’s so appealing? Looking back at historical events – from ancient times -to times of royalty and the Renaissance – to the foundation of our own country, are times that are compelling to many of us. We like to romanticize then, because they seem to be more of an innocent existence, but is that true?

At my house, we tend to watch movies about history. The western films and war movies seem to be the fare of the day most of the time. We recently got caught up in the TV series “1873.” This mini-series is a pre-quel to the “Yellowstone” series which we never watched. The story of “1873,” focuses on the family tree of the Duttons as they made their way through trying times, danger and the peril of an unknown country. As in most stories of the old west, we assumed this would be right up our alley. The poetic beauty of each episode was brilliantly carried from one to the next. Yes, there was violence, promiscuous behavior and the typical heroes and villains. The truth of that time was not much different than it is today. The well written scripts were often filled with family values and morality as well as the ugly side of life.

When the latest spin-off, “1923” began we were anxious to see where this story would take us. The first few episodes were a bit hard to follow, because they were filled with a number of different stories. I’m sure there is a reason for this. Possibly to do another mini-series for each of these story lines. The last few shows have been a total disappointment. Suddenly we were being exposed to sadistic behavior, pornography, dialogue that could be written by any fifteen-year-old with a bar of soap in his mouth, and all the other ugly things that go along with deviant behavior. Is this the past we grow so quickly disillusioned with? I know the “real world” is filled with this garbage, but we don’t enjoy viewing it.

The days of nostalgia aren’t so great. God witnessed the same sins done over and over again, yet He still loves us. As blackened as our hearts are and corrupt as our minds become, God considers us His children. Why? We certainly don’t deserve His unconditional love. We absolutely can do nothing on our own to redeem ourselves. Life seems to fall deeper into the pit of sin and darkness, but it is a symptom of the original sin in the Garden of Eden. s dark as that chasm gets and as degenerate as we become as a people, God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that we could enjoy the inheritance of heaven.

The promise of good winning over evil is real. Thank you, God, for making that possible!