Some of us will not allow our past be our past. In fact, some of us, will not allow our mistakes, shortcomings and follies die. I simply do not know why. Honestly, I don’t understand how some of us will take what we did previously in error and beat ourselves over and over for it, again and again, thus creating a present reality that really isn’t a present for us. But then again, there are those of us who will not let our past be in our past because we’re presently doing nothing. Nor do we hope to present anything in the future. Both are horrible habits and they should die today. And do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:9) John the Baptist, as he was baptizing people in the Jordan River warns his listeners of this exact thing! You see, the people of the day were holding long and hard to some legacy like it defines them in the current moment. Obviously, the big problem here is that their legacy did not define them as individuals in the present. Sure, one cannot argue that the apple falls far from the tree without being thrown far away; and likewise, without the context of history, the trajectory of a person cannot really be understood, but John the Baptist isn’t talk about either of those things. What he is talking about is simply the fact that we cannot blame or rely on our past legacy or history to secure any type of present in reality. Let me give you an example of what John was saying to his listeners: Just because you won a football championship last year does not mean you’ll win it again this year. Likewise, just because you choked and lost the football championship last year does not mean that you will choke again this year. Likewise, just because you’ve made some mistakes, had shortcomings and messed things up in a serious way previously, doesn’t mean that you are not above those things. We need to get this straight in our heads and our hearts: God is NOW. What I am saying is: God is about your actions at this moment, not the last moment. At this very moment, are you choosing to be God’s child; or are you choosing to allow your past dictate some false sense of security about who you choose to be?
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