The Darkside Requires A New Perspective

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 

 

I remember working on a paper in Seminary about the Apostle Paul.  I admit, up to that point, I had a very sanitized view of the Apostle based on the things I had been taught in church (and the stained glass windows where everyone had a halo).  So I thought, "This paper is going to be a breeze" and I was wrong!  SO VERY wrong!!

 

When I turned in my first draft, I got back a paper that had so many red marks that I believe the professor's pen had exploded.  The final page had a single sentence: "Stop thinking about what you were taught and LOOK AT HIS LIFE!"  And I did.  And it was quite troubling!

 

Did you know that the Apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, actually helped kill Christians?  He held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen to death in the book of Acts.  Paul, by his own admission, threw his vote with those who wanted to kill Christians.  He would drag them out of their homes and throw them in prison for "rehabilitation" which meant torture or death.  He didn't even think twice about it because, in his mind, he was defending the faith.  And then...God got hold of him!  And he changed.  He became a new man with a new name...but his past was another story.  

 

Every try to overcome your past?  It's not easy at all.  Everyone has a past that is so dark that if anyone found out about it, they would be terrified of you.  But in studying for this paper, I found some interesting things about the past which might be helpful:

 

FIRST, regardless how you may appear today, everyone has a dark side.  It's true!  We all have the capability to do some pretty horrible things to each other.

 

SECOND, whatever your past, no one is beyond hope.  That's the GREAT message of the Gospel!  "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39.

 

THIRD, our past may be filthy, but we can still find a new beginning. When Saul knelt before God, he was made a new man. Christ transformed his life from one of destruction to one of restoration!  And we can experience that same new beginning too.

 

FINALLY, quit focusing on where you were. Don't waste your time focusing on where you used to be!  God gave us the gift of Christ to change our lives!  Don't waste His gift available for you!

 

We all have a past.  We ALL have failures.  We ALL need help.  And God, through Christ, provides all we need!