Making History Today: Why Do We Do This? - Gratitude

As we approach the end of another calendar year and prepare to celebrate God’s incarnation in the birth and life of Jesus Christ, it seems appropriate to remind ourselves why there is a Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest and why we might be interested in the lives of those who have gone before us. There are several important sources that are helpful. 

The first is biblical. While the people of Judah lived as exiles in Babylon, Isaiah wrote to them, “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you” (Isaiah 51:11b-2a). It is as if Isaiah needed to remind these people not only who they were, but whose they were. They needed to be reminded of their grounding. 

In the same book Isaiah makes two seemingly contradictory statements, but which are, in fact, not at all contradictory. In chapter 43 we read, “Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (43:18-19). Then in chapter 46 we find these words: “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other” (46:9). The God of the past is also the God of the present and the future, always active and engaged. Words penned by Isaac Watts in 1719 come to mind: 

“O God, our Help in ages past, Our Hope for years to come, 

Our Shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal Home.

“Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, 

From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same. 

“A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone; 

Short as the watch that end the night Before the rising sun. 

“Time, like an ever-rolling stream Soon bears us all away; 

They fly forgotten as a dream Dies at the opening day. 

“O God our Help in ages past, Our Hope for years to come, 

Be Thou our Guard while life shall last, And our eternal Home.” 

A more contemporary source is the late John Leith. In a 1960 address at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond Leith made several observations regarding the importance of studying and knowing the history of the Christian story. He connects the story of one’s individual life with the larger story of the Christian tradition. “Christians have footage in the past because they belong to the great tradition of the people of God.” And “A Christian memory is the recollection of the story of one’s life as it reaches back through the ages.” And “The recovery of a Christian memory is nothing more than an awareness of the history of the church as the story of one’s life” (Pilgrimage of a Presbyterian, pp. 196, 197). Leith is also reputed to have said, “Those who do not remember cannot be thankful for what has been bequeathed them.” 

The late historian, David McCullough, has written, “Indifference to history…is a form of ingratitude” (History Matters, p. 3).

Learning and writing about Presbyterians in the Southwest is not simply a responsibility. It’s an expression of gratitude to God for those who have “bequeathed” to us a faith and a tradition that reminds us who we are and whose we are. We do not pretend to glorify our ancestors in the faith, but we do give thanks that, as imperfect and flawed as they were (and as we are), they sought to live lives of faithful discipleship. It’s also a reminder that we do not and cannot dwell in the past, but belong to a God who, as Isaiah wrote, is always doing a new thing. Will we not perceive it? 

The Society is grateful for the interest and support of its members and friends. This column comes with best wishes to all for a blessed Advent and Christmas season and everything good in 2026. 

The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to “stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage” in the Southwest. If you are not a participating member of the Society and would like to become one, the annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per couple. Annual institutional and church membership dues are $100. Checks may be made out to PHSSW and sent to: 

PHSSW – 5525 Traviston Ct., Austin, TX 78738.