Learning From The Past

 

fns360.com - FNS Traning Center

The past is an area that sometimes lacks the proper way to define it.
Our pasts can make us or break us. Our choices have a way of sticking around and affecting the outcome of the future. We are looking at our salvation right now as part of our United Methodist beliefs and we find ourselves in Romans 10 as the Apostle Paul uses Israel's history as part of the his explanation of what Salvation in Jesus means to their faith. It is a natural part of reading the scriptures to try and find some sort of correlation to our own lives as we seek to make sense of what we are reading. What does it mean to us? How does it apply to us? Lets begin by looking at Romans 10.

 Concerning the past, Jesus would say, "Whoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back is unfit for the kingdom of heaven." There is the matter of context to take into account. Sometimes things get lost in translation. Our English language is so definite sometimes and yet so vague at other points. Jesus wants his hearers to leave behind their old lives and follow the Lord. To go back and get wrapped up in ones old sins while trying to forge ahead toward the Kingdom is going to leave the person with a back and forth looking neck that would be comparable to spiritual whiplash. We do need to keep our focus on what is ahead. Then, there is the need to study and learn for the past in order to know what we are dealing with in the future. You've probably heard the old adage, "History has a tendency to repeat itself." We can develop a fear of the past because we are so intent on the idea that we will just repeat all our old mistakes. We need not be afraid. Jesus has us in his hands. There is much he wants to teach us and that includes how to overcome our mishaps and errors. That requires taking a look back at what we have done in order to learn how to do it right the next time. The Apostle Paul isn't afraid to site and quote Israel's history in order to help them understand where they are now in the person of Jesus Christ. 

History. The past. It's where we are today as we think about what salvation in Jesus means for us.

The word, past, is multi faceted. You should be able to click on any of the pictures in my blog page today and take a look at the meanings behind how the word is used in our English language. What I found more intriguing as I prepared for this message is how the word was used and not so much how it is defined. It's used an adjective, primarily. Meaning its a description word for the most part. Our past sins are things people might remember about us. A preposition is a word we use when we want to modify a noun and change it's outlook or meaning. "We drove past the house." Meaning, we were planning to go to that house but instead we changed what we were going to do. Noun should be self explanatory. It's possessive. It's my past. It's your past. We own it. And, lastly, it's used as an adverb. An adverb is a connector word. These kinds of words bring two things together. We want to take where we have been and connect it to where we are now.

 

  The past gives us history if we have been in one place long enough. Just this morning as I picked up the church mail for our PO Box in Glenford ( a weekly, Sunday morning ritual for me as I come out the Hopewell church early) there was a letter with the return address for Don Wineman. How long has Don been living in this area? Long enough that all he had to do was write the word "OFFERING" on his envelope and get it stuck into our PO Box. There was no address for the church on the envelope. There was no stamp either. But, there it was in the box today as it got right where it needed to be. He might have walked in and asked them to place it in the PO Box for him.And, they did it for him. I know I tried to get that done once when we lived over in Baltimore. I was told I needed to purchase a stamp. "You mean to tell me that this envelope has to go all the way to Columbus to be processed and then sent back out here, with a stamp on it, just so you can walk it over there and put it in this lady's PO Box?" Yep. I'm not Don Wineman. I'm not well known. I can't make that request. I had no past or history with the post office clerk. She wasn't going to help me with that thing.

 

learningfromthepast.net
 

Our past can come into play when it comes to our salvation, as it is described here in Romans 10 by the Apostle Paul. What do we know about the Israelites? Paul makes it clear that they were very in tune with what the law was all about. They sought into it to find the means to be righteous - i.e. be in a right standing or right relationship with God. So much so, that they missed the coming of the Messiah that they knew was going to come and bring them salvation. For us, in modern America, the past may have taught us that being here in this sanctuary is the right thing to do. We are supposed to get up and go to church. That's what we have been taught to do. Where is the connection Jesus? It is a name we have heard over and over. But, do we know Him? Have we given our hearts and lives to Him? Paul is encouraging his audience to not just listen to the past and follow the law, but to actually call upon his name. "Whoever calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved." 

Have you called upon Him? Do you know Him?
Do you know what forgiveness means? Have you confessed your sins and surrendered your past?

It is something to consider as we travel through Lent. 

What will you give up for Lent?
Lets start with giving our hearts to Jesus.