Leave That Ball and Chain Where it Belongs!
C.S. Lewis once said “You can't go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” As believers of Jesus Christ, we serve a God of second chances and we have opportunity to right our wrongs and try again. Our past is good for one thing…learning. Unfortunately, some people dwell there, condemning themselves, feeling ashamed or guilty for all they’ve done wrong. But that is not what God desires for us; if He won’t condemn us, why do we sentence ourselves to a life of bad memories, shackled to pain and regret?
In John 8, we can read about a woman the Pharisees bring to Jesus, accusing her of adultery. Quick to judge, they quoted the law of Moses that they were to stone her. Instead, Jesus drew a line in the sand and said “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one the men left her and Jesus asked her who was left to condemn her. “No one,” she responded and Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” We can see here it is more important to God for us to confront our sin, ask for forgiveness, learn a lesson and move on.
Forgiveness is not free, however; we do have to ask. Without asking, we’re essentially telling God that we’re okay with our sin. But when we can humble ourselves and truly repent of our sin, the bible says that God removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12). Only Satan will dangle your past in front of you in an attempt to shame you back into his world, but you don’t have to take the bait. Stand on the solid rock of God’s word, knowing that His opinion is the only one that matters, and if He’s forgiven you, then you can move on with your head held high, starting where you are and changing the ending.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”