" Me, Myself and I"

Me, Myself, and I

"Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become"

 ~ My Big Fat Greek Wedding 

   

  When we wake each day we have the chance to change things and move forward from what was done yesterday and even further in our past. We can set out for a new destination in our lives. That whatever path we took yesterday can be changed. We can cancel whatever we put in our own personal GPS and add a new destination. That is part of the gift of free will. We make those daily choices. 

     As followers of Jesus we know that there is forgiveness for those past transgressions and we are forgiven. When we actively seek Jesus and God we are walking in the light. There is a feeling of new beginnings, a fresh start. For as the bible say’s 

“ So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

    This is that saving grace that we believe as Christians. That we are a new creation in Christ. That He died for our sins and we are forgiven. God came down and became man to save our souls and be set free. 

    If this was not the case we would face a different future. It would not have that saving grace but that of damnation. It is what keeps me going. That even if I fail today that I have another chance for redemption. If it was set in stone, it would not matter what we did on either side of right or wrong, truth or sin,  or good and evil. We are responsible for our own salvation. 

   Now with all that being said, I have something to add. Yes, we are a new creation when we follow Jesus. We are forgiven for our sins when we ask and confess to our transgressions. Those transgressions or sins are of the past but they are still part of who we are. Those sins and transgressions do have a part in shaping who we are, what we believe and what we will become. There are lessons to be learned from our pasts and if we try and wash the past away we lose what we learned. If we lose what we learned then we may repeat those same patterns that created those sins and transgressions. Do not focus on the acts or sins themselves but those lessons that you learned from them. 

    The time I spent away from the church, Jesus and God does add to what I am right now. I am not proud of that time lost but I know I am stronger now then when I left. All those experiences shaped who I was when I turned back to the life of church, Jesus and God. I can use that time and experience when I speak to people who are away from the church or just returning. They are shared experiences and when you become a witness to those people, they see the hope in the life. That someone else has done this and they understand. God needs us to help build the Kingdom of God here on earth. He needs us as we are and not just who we will be.

    God still moves in us and around us no matter what we are doing or what is in our past. We may not see Him at those times but when you look back you will be able to see it. If we do not let those times become part of who we are then we lose those graces and blessings that have come from them. We can use our past to help others come to this life of Christ. We are a church of sinners who by the grace of God was forgiven because Jesus died for our sins. 

    The past is not to weigh us down but lift us up to see where we came from and what we have gained to be who we are today. It is not rejoicing in those past sins but it is the redemption that came from them that we are able to be that new creation in Christ. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember it is not your past self that God see’s but the creation you have become in Christ.