Having moved house twelve times in my adult life, I am still amazed by the amount of ‘clutter’ we accumulate in a very short space of time. Much of the ‘stuff’ we moved to our new home seemed to go straight back into the loft, but all seems to be things we once loved, or might, just use again!
This got me thinking about the clutter we carry around in our own lives, thoughts and feelings from past mistakes or
failures. We often make new starts in life including times of repentance and forgiveness, yet we often carry baggage
forward from our previous situation onto the new one.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says; ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is
here!’ [NIV-UK]
So, let us, as a forgiven people, not let the burdens of the past weigh us down in the present and the future. What God has forgiven; He has forgotten.
C.S. Lewis once said; ‘If God forgives us, we must forgive ourselves otherwise it’s like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.’
If you are struggling with past burdens, then take heart from the words of 553 from our Singing the Faith hymn book;
I am a new creation,
no more in condemnation,
here in the grace of God I stand.
My heart is over-flowing,
my love just keeps on growing,
here in the grace of God I stand.
[Dave Bilborough]
Every Blessing,
Pastor Steve