I often viewed myself in the past as the guy that God was going to have to sneak into to heaven lest others cry foul on my arrival. What I have come to know and believe is that I am not going to heaven based on what I have done or not done, I have come to know and understand that I am going to heaven because of what Christ has done for me! Those who would look down on me for my past have no more right to heaven than I, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). My self inflicted wounds that have now long scarred over were not what was keeping me from heaven, my sins, though many, were not too great for the blood of Christ to cover and what was keeping me from heaven is the same sin that keeps anyone else from there and that is, unbelief. I must insert something here and that is that true belief is always proven by confession of sin and repentance and I do not accept the “easy believism” that is often taught today. Yes, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved but all who truly believe will also confess their sins and repent. When I began to believe that my forgiveness was just as legitimate as anyone else’s and realized that heaven and hell will both be populated with sinners, I began to understand that to doubt my own forgiveness was to diminish the work and blood of Christ on the cross. I began to understand that if God forgave me, who am I to not walk in and enjoy that forgiveness? Does that mean I act as though my past never happened and remembering it is a sin? Not at all. I know there is a chance that some who are reading this have had life altering consequences for their forgiven sin, prison, divorce, broken family relationships, very painful consequences of sins God has completely forgiven. We must come to realize that while there are great and small sins, they are all sins.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. – 1 Peter 4:15
Murderers, thieves and evildoers seems to be an understandable grouping, but why is the busybody thrown in with these other obviously terrible sins? The reason is simple, sin of any size disqualifies from heaven. Murder is a worse sin that gossip, but they are both sins, and the evildoer is worse than the busybody but, but both are sins and all sins require a blood covering and all sins are equally covered by the blood of Christ. Self inflicted wounds, and all other sins, by faith and trust in Christ as Savior and Lord are covered by His blood, including yours! Then why are there still consequences? How can I put the past in the past with constant reminders of what I have done or the pain of my actions invading each day? How do I Dance with the Scars when I go home to an empty house every day, or my kids won’t speak to me, or someone I hurt won’t let me show them I am a changed person. We have been dealing with the emotional and spiritual side of being freed from being a P.O.W. but what about the practical side?
As I mentioned there are memories that pop up in my mind at random times, they are not things the devil brings up when I am working through something God wants to change in me, or just when I am down or in a dry season, sometimes the devil throws my past in my face when things are going great. He loves to do this to me when I am driving to church to preach. This makes an important point for it identifies for us that Satan will use our past and forgiven sin as a weapon in spiritual warfare. But one thing I can say for sure, the devil has never been able to bring up my past when I was engaged in doing the work of the Lord. Preaching, praying with someone, counseling, witnessing, these are spiritual things that the past cannot penetrate with memories or feelings of shame and despair. Simply put; When battling the failures of the past do something for God in the immediate present. Go tell someone about Jesus, do something for a person in need and tell them about Jesus. Visit the sick and imprisoned, clothe the poor, do something that God has called all His children to do that requires his Divine power.
It may seem like the answer in each chapter is to serve God and that is because to a degree, it is! How I wish Christians would understand the power of serving God! How it glorifies Him and blesses you and the Devil cannot stop, hinder or impede the will of God. If you have a past that you would give anything to change like I do, have two choices; spend the rest of your days wishing it would’ve never happened, or live the rest of your days thanking God that you’re completely forgiven. One definitely feels better than the other.
Excerpt from “Dancing With the Scars” now available on Amazon.
