Perhaps one of my favorite required novels to study in high school, was the infamous Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The tale is sordid and a real page turner- drawing in the reader for more. I fell in love with Hester Prynne, even as the fictional community in which she lived, destained her. After the assumed death of her husband, and a moment of vulnerability, she had an affair with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, resulting in her pregnancy, and birth of their daughter, Pearl. At this time in history, it was extremely uncommon for someone to have a child out of wedlock, and so her shame was a real, tangible thing.
The basis of this novel is that Hester protects the Reverend from being exposed, and bears the sole public shame of her condition. As a result, she is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her clothing, revealing her identity as an adulterer. Reverend Dimmesdale goes on with his life- free from the public humility of what he had done. He isn't exposed. He doesn't carry the burden. Hester does. I remember thinking, as a young teenager of how unfair this was- and it truly was unfair. This is a sin of two- not one, yet she paid the price alone.
I don't think any of us are walking around with physical letters emblazoned on our chests, spilling the details of our sinful history. For this, I thank God! For if this were required, none of us would be without our own various letter jackets, full of multiple offenses. And yet, we often carry the burden of our past within our very souls. We refuse to release ourselves from the identity of our crimes, even though as Christians, God has erased them. And I think if we look a little deeper, we will see that we carry these burdens, because we often, in like manner, assign past offenses to others.
Let's think a minute about some people that will give you further insight to what I mean : Michael Vick. Monica Lewinsky. Anthony Weiner. Tonya Harding. Paula Deen. Lindsay Lohan. Tiger Woods. Chris Brown. Lance Armstrong. Charlie Sheen. Now this is a short list, but if your mind went to doping, dog fighting, prejudice, sex scandals or violence, you understand the correlation between how we think of others- often, by the very thing they did wrong. These people may not wear badges displaying their dishonor, but we assign them anyway. Honestly, when I think of how I'm guilty of this, I'm ashamed.
What unwelcome sins do you carry around from your own past? Do they negatively impact your identity? Do you believe them louder than what God says about you? We have this ugly part of our human tendency to hold onto our shame- and to remember the shame of others. This is not a habit easily tossed aside, and will take consistent effort to abolish from our mindset. The blood of Jesus has freed us from our sins- it washes us whiter than snow! Can I encourage you, dear sister or brother, to refuse to carry around the sins that Jesus already forgave? And can I also encourage you to release others from carrying their past burdens?
I love how Christ Jesus has given us new life, and a new identity. Even sins we have committed as His children- they are covered by His blood! You are an heir to His heavenly kingdom. We are His sons and daughters. He has released us from the chains and bondage of sin- we are to live as free! Friends- let's eradicate the letters we choose to carry, and embrace His wonderful gift of grace. And let's not stop there- let's shower that same grace on others, refusing to see them as anything less than forgiven. We have kingdom work to do, and we can best do it when we believe we are who God says we are- forgiven!
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
Dear Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for your gracious gift of forgiveness. You are so loving and kind, and we thank You for Your grace. And yet, Father, we often hold onto our sin- assigning it to our identity. Help us to abandon this unhealthy spiritual habit, and to fully embrace our identity as Your children- free and forgiven! In Your name, we pray, Amen!
I don't have many relics saved from my childhood. I'm not a hoarder of things, and often like to purge and clean out my drawers and cabinets. In the span of fifty years, plenty has been thrown away- but not my Winnie-the-Pooh. I'll never forget a childhood trip to Disney World. In the eyes of a little girl, is there any place more magical? We rode rides, ate lots of food, waited in lines, and watched parades. And while it wasn't as commercialized then as it is today, it still held a pretty big thrill in the heart of my little girl world. I took away memories that would follow me through life, but I also took away a little Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animal as a souvenir to remember my trip.
It was a typical hot Florida day and on the way home from the park we stopped for dinner. As much as I wished to take Pooh inside with me, my parents told me he had to stay in our van. And so I tucked him in the floorboard of the van, and headed in for dinner. When I came back to the van later, I scooped him up, only to see that one of my blue crayons had melted all over his leg and lower body. My eyes filled with tears, and there was no way I could return him to a pre-blue state. He was stained forever.
Maybe it's the fact that I always seem to root for the underdog. Maybe it's the fact that my heart hurts for the hurting. Maybe it's because I feel sadness for the outcast. Or maybe, I loved that Pooh extra, because I saw myself in him. I connected with him, because I often felt unpopular and insecure, as a small child. No stuffed animal ever rivaled the love I had for that blue-stained bear. His flaws made him more special to me. He was always placed closest to me in bed, and always came along for adventures. In him, I could see the broken loved and accepted. That blue stain didn't disqualify him from my love- it made me love him more.
Maybe that Pooh was preparing me for loving broken people, I'm not really sure. But maybe he also showed me a little picture of how God loves us. Stained. Broken. Messy. Different. Yet all of those things are the very reason we desperately need Jesus. Because in the heart of every human being is the intense craving to feel wanted, accepted and loved. People can only fulfill that craving to a degree, but only God can fill it perfectly. I'm just like that blue-stained Pooh, looking for love and acceptance, and only through the blood of Jesus do my stains wash away. And only through the cross can I be made clean again. Through His great gift of salvation, I can be accepted into God's family- secure in His love, and free from the sin that once stained me.
What blue stains do you carry around? Is it abuse? Betrayal? Are you dirty with sexual sin? Do you carry around guilt from your past? Whatever your "blue" is, it doesn't have to stay with you. You can be free. Not only unbelievers are carrying around stains- we often do, too. One of the most beautiful things in life is to see the broken made whole through the blood of Jesus. I'll forever be grateful for His love that removed my sin stains, and gave me exactly what I needed - His perfect love. If there's something you carry around with you still- something that eats at your soul, take it to the Cross. Jesus has great compassion for the hurting and the broken. And like I loved that crazy, blue Pooh, He loves us infinitely more. My little bear was stained forever, but thank God our sins can be forever wiped clean!
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (ESV)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 (ESV)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for washing away our stains and giving us freedom from the guilt of our sins. No one loves us like You- and in Your love, we find acceptance, joy, hope, peace and life. Thank You, Father, for loving us and for offering Your Son as a way to make us clean and whole. In Your name we pray, Amen!
Love is hard. Not new love- but real love that stands the test of time. New love is blind to faults and failures. It's hopeful and naive in nature. It sees the good and glosses over the bad. But real, honest to goodness love is not only hard- it's messy, and reveals a real need for Jesus in my loving. Chances are, you're familiar with keeping score in your relationships. Like me, you probably aren't proud of this weakness, it's just a sad reality that's a part of you.
Scripture reminds us in the love chapter (1 Corinthians 13) what love is. Love is patient, kind, doesn't envy or boast. Love is not proud or envious, nor does it dishonor others. It's not self-seeking or easily angered. Love doesn't delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. It protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, and never fails. And it keeps no record of wrongs. I don't know about you, but this one has been speaking to my soul the past few weeks, and convicting me of how often I fail to love without any record keeping.
The older I get, the more my memory stinks. I've never been great at remembering names, dates in history, or when I'm due for my next colonoscopy (who wants to remember that?). But chances are pretty good that if you've wronged me in word or action, I remember. And while I will readily admit that, I'll also acknowledge how wrong this behavior is. There are life lessons to learn from being hurt or betrayed, wronged or assaulted. But when you love someone, you aren't to keep tabs. In fact, as far as love goes, they didn't happen- they're simply gone. Apart from the Holy Spirit, this would be an impossible request, until we take a really good look at how God loves us.
God has every reason to not only remember my wrongs, but to disqualify me from His love and redemption because of them. Every sin I've ever committed has been against Him, and yet because of the blood of Jesus, He chooses to love me and forget my sin. This form of love is more powerful than I could ever understand, because there isn't a laundry list of great things about me that should earn His favor. Yet this is how God loves us, and He asks us to love others this same way. He doesn't command us to do something we aren't capable of doing, but He often asks us to do things that are impossible without His help. Like keeping no record of wrong.
What words and actions are you holding on to from the past that you believe justify you from loving the offender? Is it an insult from a friend? A rude comment about one of your children that was brought to your attention? Have you been betrayed by an affair? Have you been hurt by a parent? Has someone criticized your work or your appearance that left you angry and insecure? Friends- loving is hard business, and somedays it almost seems impossible to love without keeping score. Especially in marriage- yet it's crucial that we learn how to let go. Air out your differences and confess your faults and failures, and then you'll need to leave them in the past, relinquishing the right to bring them up again. Because this is what God has done for us. When we confess our sins before Him, He not only forgives us, but removes them from our record. They are erased- gone!
Somedays, following Jesus is easy- days when our cost of following is low. But other days, following Him is hard- especially in the realm of loving like He loves us. But the reward will always, always be worth it. So whatever records you're keeping against others, it's time to erase the slate. Release them. Free yourself- and simply love, knowing that by choosing to love when it's hard is a true reflection of His Spirit within you. A person who doesn't keep records from past wrongs is a breath of fresh air. Go ahead- be that person. It won't go unnoticed. It'll only make your light shine brighter.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
Dear heavenly Father, help me to let go of the past offenses of others against me. It goes against my flesh, but we know that when we love in this way- forgiving and forgetting, we reflect Your very nature within us. Thank You, Father, for erasing the record of my sin, bought by Your precious blood. In Your name we pray, Amen!
I have a pretty vivid memory when it comes to unwanted life situations. When we pass through things that are difficult, they are often referred to as "fiery trials". Passing through fire means we will experience painful burns- burns that are hard to erase from our memories, and likely have value in being remembered for the lessons they hopefully taught us. My mind goes back to one particular season of emotional pain- a time of separation from my husband following an affair. While I'm close to celebrating my fiftieth birthday, no season was more painful than those two years.
For many months throughout that period of time, I struggled against acceptance. While I remained close to the Lord out of a desperation for comfort and help, I still despised my circumstance. "Why me?", I would ask Him. I would scan through my past actions, looking for a reason, wanting to know why this was part of my life's story. Most days, I felt it was an injustice to my "good girl" persona. I felt jilted- not only by my husband, but by God. I plodded along with these feelings for quite some time, and then there was a turning point that is emblazoned in my memory.
After my husband left home for the second time within the course of one year, I was heartbroken, yet relieved. God was still working on him, and at this point, I knew I had to wait until He broke him. But that's another story for another time. My turning point looked like this: a heaping mess face down on the floor of my bedroom trusting the Spirit to make the right words from my heart for the Father. I had to come to the point of surrender that for now, this was the reality that God allowed to touch my life, so He must have a purpose in it. He isn't cruel. He isn't without intention. And so I simply had to come to the point of surrender and acceptance that even though I didn't like it, somehow and some way, God would make it right.
Maybe you're up against a circumstance today that you don't want to be a part of your life journey. Life doesn't look like you wished it did today. So many of us are experiencing Covid related disappointments. Separations from those we love. Inability to worship collectively. Financial struggles and job loss. Small businesses closing the doors permanently as lifelong dreams die. Postponed weddings. Separations from loved ones suffering an illness or celebrating the birth of a new baby. It's not supposed to be this way, we think to ourselves. Why is God allowing this to happen to me?
Life is going to have its share of disappointments. Things won't always go the way we wish they did. But how are you responding in those moments? Are you accepting them, trusting that God will bring good from them? Do you really believe He has purpose, for His good plans- even in this? Are you straining against what is, and wishing for what you really wanted? In these painful moments, God is looking for not only surrender, but acceptance. And from acceptance, the hope that joy is still possible- even if things don't work out my way.
God has lessons in our seasons of waiting. He wants us to trust Him when things are a mess. He wants us to serve Him, even when our hearts are hurting. He wants us to love Him, even when we are in that fire- and especially then. Whatever you may be experiencing today that wasn't a part of your plan in life- may you learn to surrender and accept what is. Pray for His will in your situation, and even when it doesn't measure up with your will, trust that He knows what He's doing. And never stop believing that around the bend, He has good things for you. And He hopes you'll be willing to use those burns to reach others who are walking the same fire as you.
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (ESV)
Dear heavenly Father, life can be so hard somedays. Situations and circumstances come along that cause worry, pain and fear. Help us to trust You, even when things look out of control and completely different than we envisioned. Help us to surrender and accept what You allow in our lives, trusting You have good plans for us. In Your name we pray, Amen!
