As a young boy I built forts with my friend Scott out of sticks in the woods. We made pretend guns out of sticks, too, to fight off pretend enemies. We would watch Superman on TV, and then go race each other to the big rock at the end of the driveway where we waited for my dad to come home from work. Often he would let us sit on his lap in the car and steer the car down the drive way to the garage. We would play catch with each other with a baseball, and eat fresh strawberries we’d pick from Dad’s garden. Life was so safe, so fun, and so full of cool things to do. There was so much I didn’t know, so much I was protected from. I’m sure some who had rough childhoods must think “it must have been nice to be you.” I guess in many ways, it was. But I haven’t told you about some of the painful and tough things that also happened. I’ll spare you that part. But my point is we all have a different past, full of relationships and challenges, and good as well as bad memories. All of it influences you today. All of it contributes to who you are – in both good ways and bad. But II Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Now what does that actually mean about our past and its influence on us after we become a Christian? It means you are new in Christ, so don’t let the good or bad from the past tell you who you are or what you will be. I am not trying to get anyone to change their personality traits or tell you have to think or feel certain ways because of your past. But please believe the Bible, when God says “you are new” you are new “in Christ” -not just in you.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:13:36 +0000
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