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. (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV)
One thing we all must remember about the past is that it is indeed past. We cannot redo the past, so we must stop reliving our past and trying to rewrite it. We cannot take back the harsh and hurtful words we spoke into the lives of others. We cannot undo the poor choices we made that negatively impacted our lives and the lives of others.
I am always amazed when people tell me that they live their lives without regret. I can’t get through most mornings without incurring some kind of regret. Who has ever fulfilled God’s two greatest commandments – Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself — for even a single moment, let alone an entire day? Our transgression against these two commands alone is reason enough for massive remorse and regret.
But God has a wealth of grace to redeem a past life that is littered with the ugly messes created by living less than God’s best for us. Everything we look back on and would like to redo has been covered and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. That is why we must learn from the past and refuse to live in the past.
Where have you been living lately? In your painful past or in the here and now? Satan loves it when we live in the past. Looking over our shoulder at our past sins and failures prevents us from leaning prayerfully forward into the present and doing what God has called us to do for His glory and the good of others. God’s grace frees us from trying to relive the past and rewrite our history. And it is God’s grace that empowers us to treat the past like a school: We are to learn the lessons it has for us and move on with life, knowing that He who began the good work in us will one day bring it to its glorious completion. We have His Word on that!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 