The Tribune

By CARLOS SPENCER

Life evolves from one second to the next. The present is only a fleeting or ephemeral moment and soon becomes the past. For many of us the past is one of ambivalence containing a variety of high and low points in our lives. However, scripture reminds us that we need not reside or dwell in our past. We can look to the future for a more fulfilling and happier existence.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV): “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Believers in Christ know that a life fixated around God by way of Jesus is the means by which one is able to disentangle oneself from the negative and undesirable influences on the past. We look forward to an eternal life with our Creator once our time in this earthly world is at an end.

Paul also wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV): “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

We are all guilty of sin because we are human beings, but by God’s grace and providence we hope for a new and constructive chapter in our lives.

In Old Testament scripture, Isaiah 43:18-19 (KJV) records: “Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

We are admonished to forget events which occurred in our past and to embrace the new and rewarding life that God has created for us. We will encounter challenges no doubt, but this passage is articulate and cogent. We are encouraged to leave our past behind us and luxuriate in the new life that God has created.

Paul very ably expresses the significance of Christ’s death on the cross and its implication for us. He wrote in Galatians 2:20-21 (KJV): “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

Jesus lives in the hearts and minds of believers and we are grateful for God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice of His life for us.

David provides us with comforting words in Psalm 37:1-2 (KJV): “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.”

Jesus Himself tells us of the importance of pressing forward once we have embarked upon a new chapter in our lives. “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

Amen. Thanks be to God for the sharing of His Word.