The Past is the Past - or Is It?
So many people are determined to leave the past in the past. Not that that's a bad thing. The Bible even tells us,
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.… (Philippians 3:12-14a, NIV).
In fact, these are Verses that are usually quoted when someone says they are leaving their past behind. But are we interpreting these Verses correctly?
Paul wrote this Verse in his letter to the Philippians. However, this same Paul often spoke boldly of his past. If we read his history in Acts, we find not only that Paul's sordid, murderous past is included there; we also find that he used it as a testimony more than once. Everyone knew what Paul was. Did he get judged for it? Probably more than once.
I think the lesson we can learn from Paul is we do not have to allow our pasts to define us. We should press on. But I can tell you from experience (and Paul's, too) that we shouldn't hide our pasts. That takes a lot of energy. The fact is, we do live in a don't ask, don't tell world. But I fully believe this is not God's way.
I believe God's way - the way to minister to others - is to be open about how God has worked in our lives. This means telling our "Paul-like pasts." This means being put under scrutiny, being put under the microscope of judgment. It means that our success may not be by the world's standards. It means we will have to work hard. We will have to do things a different way. It will take a lot - and I do mean A LOT - of determination. We will often feel like a complete failure because of how the world is - even the Christian world (perhaps, mostly the Christian world). But that's okay. Others have gone through it before us. We must remember the last part of that Passage - the goal is in Christ Jesus, not in what we see in the here and now.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.… (Philippians 3:12-14a, NIV).
In fact, these are Verses that are usually quoted when someone says they are leaving their past behind. But are we interpreting these Verses correctly?
Paul wrote this Verse in his letter to the Philippians. However, this same Paul often spoke boldly of his past. If we read his history in Acts, we find not only that Paul's sordid, murderous past is included there; we also find that he used it as a testimony more than once. Everyone knew what Paul was. Did he get judged for it? Probably more than once.
I think the lesson we can learn from Paul is we do not have to allow our pasts to define us. We should press on. But I can tell you from experience (and Paul's, too) that we shouldn't hide our pasts. That takes a lot of energy. The fact is, we do live in a don't ask, don't tell world. But I fully believe this is not God's way.
I believe God's way - the way to minister to others - is to be open about how God has worked in our lives. This means telling our "Paul-like pasts." This means being put under scrutiny, being put under the microscope of judgment. It means that our success may not be by the world's standards. It means we will have to work hard. We will have to do things a different way. It will take a lot - and I do mean A LOT - of determination. We will often feel like a complete failure because of how the world is - even the Christian world (perhaps, mostly the Christian world). But that's okay. Others have gone through it before us. We must remember the last part of that Passage - the goal is in Christ Jesus, not in what we see in the here and now.
Comments
Post a Comment