Have you ever arrived late to a sporting event, movie, or a momentous occasion? I have. Being late to an important gathering makes me feel like I’ve missed out on something or like I am behind everyone else who actually arrived on time. Some people feel “late” to their faith. They struggle with guilt over all the wasted time and opportunities because of living life for themselves.
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If I have confessed my past sins to God and if I have sought reconciliation with the people from my past, then why can’t I forgive myself? It’s a valid question since, in my opinion, people have an easier time receiving God’s forgiveness than they do forgiving themselves. Maybe it’s because we still live with the consequences of our sin or maybe it results from being disappointed in ourselves. I’m not sure if I have all the answers. What makes matters worse is that the Bible never speaks concerning “forgiving yourself,” so the follower doesn’t really have a reference point…or do they? Although the Bible never specifically mentions forgiving ourselves, the Bible provides numerous examples of people who moved on with their lives after a shameful event. The past is the past and will never change no matter how much you beat yourself up. If you grieve every single day of your life for the sins of your past, it still won’t change what has already been done. Please listen to me. It’s time to move on. You cannot change the past, but you can change today and tomorrow and the next day if God grants you life.
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IF you confess, God will forgive. Does the past end here? The answer is yes and no. When a part of your past is a private matter, the past is erased; however, when a shameful part of your past involves another person, there must be an attempt at restoring that relationship. Making things right with God is the first step, but making things right with others is the next step. I will go as far to say that you cannot properly worship God until you have attempted to reconcile with an enemy. Maybe you believe my statement to be extreme, so I would like to show you the words of Jesus regarding this matter. Matthew 5:23-24 says, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” Jesus’ teaching is very clear. Worship of God is unacceptable until an attempt to resolve conflict with someone else has been made. Did you leave your last job with unresolved issues? Have you refused to speak with a family member because of a past argument? Did your relationship end on a sour note? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes,’ the past cannot be erased until you make an honest effort to reconcile. I’m sure you can think of numerous reasons NOT to reconcile but according to the words of Scripture, you have a responsibility to make it right. Unresolved conflict with another person will always be a part of your past until you have sought restoration. There is no way to sidestep this requirement.
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There are no do-overs in life. None. Expired days and moments cannot be relived. They are now a part of your past. Words and actions cannot be rescinded. Once in a lifetime opportunities have vanished. Sinful deeds are now a part of you. There is so much finality to the past, which often leads to ongoing feelings of guilt, shame, and regret. How would you feel if I told you that your past could be erased? What if the sin and shame that taints your past could be removed from your record? You can be released from your past and I’m going to tell you how. The apostle John writes the following words to believers in the first century, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9, NLT). Forgiveness of your past sins is simply based on whether you are willing to agree with God about your wrongdoing and take responsibility for your disobedience. When David’s sin of adultery and murder was discovered, he prayed these words, ” Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:5, NLT). In the midst of his prayer of confession, he offered advice to the godly who found themselves guilty of sin, “Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment” (Psalm 32:6, NLT).
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We like to talk about the past. Well, I guess that statement is only half-true. We actually like to discuss the good memories in our past and forget about the bad ones. It is much easier to relive accomplishments, successes, and happy times while doing our best to erase the inabilities, failures, and disappointments. Our trophies are on display for everyone to see, but our shame is hidden away. We’ve become experts at hiding things, especially the things we do not want others to discover. Here is the problem with this thought pattern. You cannot hide the past from yourself. No matter how hard you work at tucking the past away, it always has a way to resurface. Why do shameful parts of our past reappear? The answer is simple. Guilt and shame return when the sins that haunt our past have not been properly handled. Rather than facing the past, we bury it in a shallow grave.
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One of the greatest events that took place in human history was the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Although it sounds disgusting to relish in a person’s death, Christians throughout the ages look to the crucifixion of Christ as the single event which satisfied the wrath of God upon sin (John 3:16-17, 36). Without His death there would be no forgiveness of sin. Even though no one deserves God’s grace, He demonstrated His love toward us by sending His only Son to pay the penalty for sin, which was death (Romans 5:8). Sin cost Jesus His life. Your sin cost Jesus His life. My sin cost Jesus His life.
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My phone showed that I had 6 text messages. The sender? My wife. Her shift began in ten minutes and her computer was infected with some type of virus which was preventing her from performing any tasks. I placed a call to her but the problem could not be solved over the phone so I hopped into my car and hurried home hoping to resolve the issue. Upon my arrival I discovered that Leah was right. Nothing was functioning properly on her laptop. Using my phone I googled (what did we do before Google?) the issue and within seconds I found that this virus had been experienced by many other users in the past few weeks. Luckily, I also found the solution. In order to get rid of the virus I had to perform a system restore. By definition a system restore “…allows for the rolling back of system files, registry keys, installed programs, etc., to a previous state in the event of malfunctioning or failure.” In other words, I could return the computer to an earlier point in its life when the virus did not exist on the computer. Ten minutes later, the virus was gone and the computer was back to normal.
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People sin. You’ve sinned. I’ve sinned. Paul writes that all have sinned (Romans 3:23). No need to remind me that I fall short. My life is a daily reminder of how often I miss the mark.
I try. I fail. I try again. I succeed. I get prideful. I get humbled. I start over.
I’m not sure why God just doesn’t give up on us? He should. He could. He doesn’t. It doesn’t make sense.
I’m not sure that God’s unconditional love will ever be understood by the human heart. That’s okay.
I’ll take it. I’ll embrace it. I need it. I can’t live without it.
Whenever I need a new beginning with God, I always turn to Psalm 51. Although the words written there are David’s specific confession for his sin of adultery, they provide a beautiful picture of a heart broken over sin and a man in pursuit of a fresh start with God. If you need a fresh start today, speak these words to God from a humble heart.
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Yesterday, I wrote about dealing with your past. If you didn’t get a chance to read my post, you can get a little video preview here and if you would like to read the original post, you can read that here. Forgive my first attempt at a video blog, but I’m trying a few new things here. Enjoy your day!
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