SHACKLED TO THE PAST OR FLYING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

It amazes me how much of our present experience is tied to our attitude to our past. Some of us have had a childhood full of sad and bad experiences, not only from life in our family homes but also mistreatment from peers and teachers at school and beyond.

All sorts of factors influenced the way people treated us and left gaping wounds in our hearts.

Now we are all grown up and must eventually take responsibility for the way we deal with the harm done to us in the past. Some people are resilient enough to let the past go. They learn and grow from bad experiences.

For example, one who has grown up in an alcohol-soaked environment with all its violence, drama, and… yes… shame, may decide never to touch a drop of the poison that destroyed his/her childhood. He chooses to use every opportunity to build a life of honesty and integrity based on hard work and good values.

Someone with this resolve will fly into the future. Despite the pain of the past, a decision to let it go makes all the difference to the present and the future.

Others remain locked to their past and the self-pity that feeds it. They can’t get past the Poor Me Syndrome that colours their function in the present. They float through life on their misery and end up getting nowhere and achieving nothing. Their failure only serves to feed guilt, shame, and despair.

The Apostle Paul had every reason to camp in the field of failure. In Romans 7, he describes his attempts to overcome sin in his life through his valiant attempts to keep the law. He was conscientious about his religious duties but the harder he tried, the more he failed.

Paul ended up being a persecutor and murderer in his religious zeal, but nothing he did brought peace… only guilt and regret.

What did Paul do with his past? He could have become a “basket case” like so many people do, but he made a wise choice that freed him from the guilt and shame of his past. He let go of everything, including his religious achievements and set his sights on a heavenly goal.

Knowing that his past was forgiven and obliterated by the death of Jesus, Paul anchored his present and future on God’s promises.

Philippians 3:6-7 NLT
[6] “I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. [7] I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”

That was the start of a right-about turn, but Paul didn’t stop there. He pressed on with dogged determination through all the hardships and suffering his choice took him.

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 NLT
[23] “Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. [24] Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. [26] I have travelled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. [27] I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. [28] Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.”

Paul thumbed his nose at all of his achievements and hardship for one reason.

Philippians 3:12-14 NLT
[12]”I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. [13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

At the end of his relatively short and struggle-filled life, Paul could say with confidence,

2 Timothy 4:6-8 NLT
[6] As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. [7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. [8] And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.”

So, what do we do with our past? Tenaciously hang on to it and waste a life that could be productive and fulfilling? Let it go, wave it a final goodbye, and fly into the future with gratitude for the good qualities hardship and pain has produced, and hope in the many promises of God that shine brightly on our future.

Do you have a goal? What is your goal in life? To live and end up a blob of misery? To persevere and reach God’s ultimate goal by grace and with His help,, a perfect replica of Jesus?

It all begins with a choice.

1 John 3:2-3 NLT
[2] “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. [3] And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.”