Remembering the Past

by: Tammy De Ruyter

Robert was a successful businessman, happily married with two kids. Everything seemed picture-perfect, but it wasn’t. “House-rage,” he joked to his friends. The slightest irritation often sent flashes of anger through his body. One night, cruel words spewed from his mouth louder than ever. Within moments, his children were quivering upstairs. In a brief flash, he remembered his own childhood and the terrifying hours spent hiding while his father cooled down from a similar outburst.

Paul had plenty of bad things in his past, both that he had done and that were done to him. He persecuted Christians. As a Christian, he was beaten, stripped, jailed, and mocked. But repeatedly he shares his story. For Paul, “forgetting what lies behind” motivates him for the future life with Christ. The race, he says, is worth running. “I press on toward the goal.”

For Christians, to face the past is to live with a hope-filled future. Events in our lives, the magnificent ones as well as the horrendous, mold us into the people we are. Reformed ethicist Lewis Smedes writes, “You can never forgive people for things you have forgotten about.” Scars remind us of the pain, but when God’s healing flows over the wound, the memories lose their painful grip. Trust Jesus. Give him your past, then look forward to what lies ahead.