1998-11-16 - Life's Wrong Turns

Ephesians 5:8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.

Almost everyone can point to a time in life when the road we were traveling on was a dead end. Probably without exception we must all admit that, at times, the turns of life have not exactly steered us down paths that were good for us. So it was with the Florida woman this week who made one wrong turn too many and found herself on a runway at Tampa International Airport. "She was on a runway staring at a 737", said Scott Loper, assistant director of operations.

What have been your 737's, or DC10's? How have you stared them down and gained victory over them? How has your faith in the reconciliation you have found in Christ aided you in your wrong turns? If you have ever stumbled back into the right path, having gone the wrong way for a time, the answers to these questions should be remembered. Why? I hope to explain a little.

One reason why we should remember our past struggles and failings, even when we have had victory, is because this helps us remember from where we have come. We have come from darkness and turned to light. We have come from practices and habits that were destructive and, in Christ, we live anew, a life of victory. Quite honestly we have come out of death and into life. The change that Christ brings into a life is nothing short of comprehensive and complete in its scope. "Old things have passed away, lo, new things have come."

In thinking of our past, from where we have come; our present, where we are; and our future, where we are headed, we remember that the victory was won by Christ. What a great advantage Christ has been for us. We used to stare down 737's, now we look into the loving eyes of Christ. And rather than cringe from the coming impact of our wrong turns, we now melt into the caring arms of Christ the Lord.

We are all, to some degree, figuring out which road ahead of us is the right turn or wondering if we have made the right turns in the past, but let us not forget the victories that we have had in the past. Having victory over failings or wrong turns are important moments in our lives. They give us hope when we are struggling, they remind us that, no matter how hard the battle seems, in the past, we have, through Christ, prevailed over sin. (That last phrase is so important! Don't ever fall trap to the misconception that you prevail over sin without Christ.)

"But now this is the fullness and sufficiency of mercy: it doth not only ease a man in regard of present necessity, but lays provision for all future wants and calamities that can befall the soul." Thomas Hooker

Soli Deo Gloria,
Tim

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