Charlie Brown was sitting in a deck chair near the front of a large boat when Lucy walked up.

“Some people go through life with the deck chairs facing forward, gazing out where they are going,” Lucy said philosophically. “Others go through life with their deck chair facing backwards, looking at where they’ve been.”

Looking directly into Charlie Brown’s sunglasses she then asked him: “Charlie Brown, which way is your deck chair facing?”

Charlie Brown responded simply: “I really don’t know—I’ve never been able to get it unfolded!”

There are times of the year when we tend to look back and there’s often an element of either regret or nostalgia.

Neither is enough for a chance to do better in the future. It is said that the past isn’t what it used to be, and the future isn’t getting any better. Perhaps connected with that is the saying that the only lesson anyone ever learnt from history is that no one ever learnt anything from history.

When our deck chairs are looking backwards it should be with a view to turning towards the future.

Easter is relentlessly forward looking. In this part of the world, the signs of spiring in flowers and trees, sunshine and longer days point us towards the Easter promise of God’s new life.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, God’s new life breaks into our lives to grow towards its final fulfilment at the end of time.

Easter is the time to get the deck chair unfolded and face forwards.