“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19. There have been some people clearing land not too far from our house. It used to be completely wooded and now there are only two or three trees that have been left standing on this one part of the property. I’ve passed by there numerous times, and I can’t help but wonder why they left this one oak tree. It only has branches on one side, and the trunk is not straight by any means, it has its scars. It is not a tree that I would have left standing, but for some reason they did. It got me thinking, at some point in our lives we have all been like that tree. We have all sinned, we have all done things that were crooked. We have all at some point lied. We all have our own “scars” from sin much like the tree has from its past. We have all carried the guilt and shame from these things, but, when someone accepts Christ into their lives their sins are forgiven them. Their past is not held against them any longer. A person in Christ has been given a clean slate and they have been freed from their chains. They don’t have to carry the weight of their burdens any longer. Instead they can stand up straight in Christ. They don’t have to hide because of their guilt. In Christ we are a new creation, the old things are gone period. Nobody, not even you yourself have the right to go pick up the burdens you used to carry. God has forgiven them, He has cast your sins in the sea of forgetfulness, and we should not go fishing in those waters. We are to learn from our past, not live in it, especially since Christ has given us such a bright future. He has plans for each and every person alive. That should give us joy. We should rejoice that our Savior has great plans for us, plans for us to grow closer to Him and plans for us to share His Word with others so that they too may accept Him. There is no greater honor for a human than to serve the Lord and teach the gospel of Christ, and because of His forgiveness we can do just that. In sin we had no right to even speak His name, but because of the mercy of God we can be His messengers. Only God can perform a transformation like that, and He will do it for you if you want Him to. See, because of our sin we deserve to go to hell, but because of God’s mercy we can go to heaven. God sent His only Son to die on a cross for our sins, Jesus never sinned, but He died in a sinner’s place. Jesus died and on the third day rose back to life so that through Him we can have forgiveness and eternal life with Him. He paid our debt, and we can either choose to refuse His payment or we can accept His gift, and go to heaven. All you have to do is confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior, ask God to save you and forgive you, and believe in your heart that God raised Christ up from the dead. It is that simple, and if you do that you will go to heaven one day. In the mean time, your desires will begin to change, you will want to serve Christ and tell others about Him so that they can receive the same love and forgiveness that you have. God Bless!
