Change is possible in those who believe…

We were young and foolish once.  We did things we shouldn’t have; involved ourselves with some we shouldn’t have; adopted some ways that we shouldn’t have.  We picked up some bad habits we had to fight to get rid of; we ventured into situations that were harmful or left scars.  At 18 years of age (if not before), we ran into the world with arms wide open, ready to explore and experience life on our terms.  Some of us believed that our parents had been trying to hold us back from enjoying life.

But, after the dust had settled; after the tears and fears had been wiped away (or, in some cases buried), we realized a truth:  our parents knew what we didn’t.  They had experienced first hand or were in close proximity to the dangers of the world designed to destroy our hearts, our minds, and our soul.  Because they were good parents, they wanted to shield us from the harsh realities that awaited us outside of their parental authority.

Truth is:  we messed up; we choose our own way, being unable and sometimes completely unwilling to fully comprehend that every choice comes with a consequential effect:

Proverbs 29:23 (KJV)

A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.

HOWEVER, regardless of those past mistakes and errors, those who have been delivered from seeking their own way and have chosen by profession of mouth and belief in heart to give the reigns of our lives to the One able to lead us into all righteousness – It’s a lie if you still see us and blame us for who we used to be.  We are no longer that person of our past!  Whether you can accept it or not, we were changed from the inside out – We Are New Creatures, indeed! 

It’s also true that we still make mistakes, but, if God, the creator of all things in heaven and in the earth, can forgive us, then I beg to differ that you can judge us or hold us to who we might have been in our past.  And, should you choose to do so, I gently and lovingly remind you of this:

2 Corinthians 13:1-6 (KJV)

13 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2 I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: 3 Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. 4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6 But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.