“Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for
which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Phillipians 3:13-14
Some years ago the well known author and speaker, Dr.
Kenneth McFarland was a Superintendent of Schools in Kansas . One of the schools under his
supervision was the Coffeyville
Jr. College Nancy .
And she had a story to tell Dr. McFarland.
You see, Nancy ’s
father had been killed when she was small child, so her mother worked in
factory to support her three children, Nancy and two brothers. The only other living
relative this struggling family had was, Uncle Ben. And Uncle Ben had a
drinking problem.
Then one night, while the children were still very young,
their mother died very unexpectedly. Uncle Ben came to the house. "Uncle
Ben," the children asked, "What are we going to do now?" Uncle
Ben answered, "I love you kids. I'll go down to court and get you assigned
to me. Then, I'll get down on my knees every night and ask God to raise you
right."
"And he did!" Nancy told Superintendent McFarland. “He hasn't
had a drink since. He hasn't missed a day of work since. Jim graduated from Medical School
"There's only one problem,” Nancy continued. “He won't sit in the
parents' section. He feels it would show disrespect for Mom.” Knowing that Dr.
McFarland would be giving the commencement speech, Nancy asked, “Could you mention something
about Uncle Ben at the Commencement?" Ken McFarland said he would.
The
next night at graduation, it was a beautiful, cool evening. The graduating
students came in and took their places. Behind the students was the parents'
section, and behind them was the section for relatives and friends. Nancy
Hollingsworth was in the front row. When Dr. McFarland stood up to deliver his
address he first had all the parents stand up to honor them and thank them for
their dedication to their children.
After
a kind applause, the parents sat once again. Then he looked down to the front
row and saw Nancy Hollingsworth. Her head hung low. She thought that he'd
forgotten Uncle Ben.
But,
Dr. McFarland continued by saying, "Now, I'd like to have all those Uncle
Bens who have graduates in this class, please stand." It was very quiet.
Everyone looked around, and there was just a murmur going through the entire
gathering of people.
Absolutely, nothing happened. So he said, "I'm not
going to go on with my talk until the Uncle Ben who has a graduate in this
class stands." Way back behind the students, the graduates, the parents,
way back in the friends and relatives' section, a very tall, lean man slowly
made his way to his feet. And there he stood. Suddenly, an ovation started
across one part of the stadium and roared through to the other end. It lasted
for several minutes as he remained standing with his head bowed, somewhat
embarrassed at all this attention.
After the ceremony, McFarland asked Uncle Ben, "When
you went down to court that day, what did you say? You didn't have a very good
case as I understand it." Uncle Ben said, "You're right. I was scared
to death. And when the judge asked me why I thought the children should come
and live with me, I said `The Master said, A man can be born again. He can
change. He can change completely. And he can stay changed. I believe the Master
meant any man. Even a drunken ne'er-do-well. I believe that when the Master
said, 'whosoever will,' I believe he included me."
The judge had looked at him a long time and said, "I
believe that deal includes you, too. I'm going to let you take the children for
30 days. We'll come check. If everything's going all right, you can keep them
permanently." Then Uncle Bill said, "The three kids and I got home, and
we got down on our knees, and I promised God that if he'd hold onto me, I would
hold on to the kids, and the five of us have been going along together all
these years."
Yes, some of us are crippled by the mistakes of the past. We
lie awake at night reliving past humiliations, anticipating the consequences of
past misdeeds, regretting the tragedy of missed opportunities.
But, with Christ, you have a new beginning and a new future.
The past is gone. The Bible is very clear on this. In fact, Paul advises us to
"forget those things that are past." This is exceptionally powerful advice.
Remember, you can't do anything about yesterday, but you can
do something about today. With Christ by your side, supporting you, you can be
released from all the strongholds of your past life.
Your life with Christ isn’t about yesterday, it is about an
eternity of joyous tomorrows. That is how it works. But, there is a battle
going on within each of us. A battle between who we were alone and who we are
in Christ. You can’t fight this battle alone. You can only do it with the help
of Jesus Christ.
This week, let go of the past and take hold of your future
in our Lord Jesus Christ.
This week’s prayer
Dear Lord, please do not allow me to be a prisoner to
my past. Remind me that my past life does not determine what my future will be
like. Remain with me all the days of my life. Guide me, strengthen me and be my
companion. I do not want to go on the journey of life without You. Please go
with me into tomorrow as we turn our backs on the mistakes and sins of days
gone by. Amen.