Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now you believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. (1 Peter 1:8, NAB)
I’m sitting in my office. The blinds are open and, the sun is shining brightly and the spring flowers are blooming, yet I am sad and brooding. This is my second spring in my new home, although it seems like the first, since we were moving in and unpacking last spring.
So I sit here ignoring the beautiful day and wallowing in memories of the past. I could be out rejoicing in my present circumstances, being thankful for all that I have. Instead I’m crying over what I no longer have. At the very least, I should be thankful for everything learned in the past that can be applied to my future.
Peter was teaching Christians who hadn’t met the human Jesus. Even though they didn’t have this direct connection they were joyful and excited by Peter’s message. They didn’t brood about the past or about not meeting Jesus, they just reveled in the present. They weren’t looking back, not dwelling on the past. Instead, they were focusing on what was happening with their lives right at the time. Peter was urging the people to celebrate Jesus and their new life in Him and they were listening.
These people had plenty of reasons to be afraid, to be sorrowful. They were being persecuted for their beliefs by people they thought were friends as well as the people in power. The early Christians, formally Jews and Gentiles, faced imprisonment, torture and even death for their faith. They chose to go through these willingly instead of sacrificing their new found faith. They like Jesus celebrated their faith, they lived in the moment and didn’t let the specter of the past or the future mar this joy.
Now I have a choice to make. I can continue to sit here and wallow or I can celebrate. I can thank God for all I have and all that I have had. I can take the lessons, the memories of my past life and apply them to my new life. God has given me so much that I should be happy about, be thankful for and yet I fail to see it. I need to be more like those early Christians embracing and welcoming the new, being thankful for it. Not dwelling in the past, but using it to move forward and celebrate the moment.
Dear Lord, remove the blinders of the past from my eyes and let me embrace joyfully and thankfully the moment.
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Take a look at the opportunities you have had in your life. Do you savor the moment and give thanks for all that has led up to the moment or do you wallow in the past with regrets and misery? Next time or even right now set the past aside, look at the opportunity in front of you, embrace it and live in the moment. Be thankful and enjoy.
Christina Weigand
Women of the Bible: A Study
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