Three
life-transforming words; liberation from the burden of my past in one simple
statement.
"Such
were…but…"
King David, a
man a whole lot more like us than we are comfortable confessing, wrote it this
way: "Remember not the sins of my youth or my acts of willful rebellion."
Psalm 25:7
The downward
pull of past failures continually haunted his memory. "For I know my
transgression, and my sin is ever before me." Psalm 51:3
So many are
stymied in their desire to grow deeper in Jesus because of the unshakeable,
unavoidable nagging regrets of sins past. The shameful images frequently appear
in our rearview mirrors and effectively rob us of the joy and freedom of
salvation; in fact, almost like those small letters across the bottom of the
mirror, "Objects may be closer than they appear." (Why does a classic
Farside flash into my mind right now?
J)
With the
continual downward tug of sins past eroding resistance to temptation and
convincing many of their impotence for future Christian service, Paul writes
words of both warning and encouragement. "The unrighteous will not inherit
the kingdom of God." Sobering wake up! Then three life-transforming words:
"Such were…but…" The hilarious joy of sins completely forgotten!
So,
where HAVE my sins gone?
See
you Sunday, Church!
Pastor Tom