Learning from the Past: New year's sermon

My sermons on the 25th of Dec and 1st of Jan entitled 'Past, Present, and Future' were focusing on how we as Christians are supposed to respond accordingly towards the past and the future in order to live effectively in the present. Let me first share about our attitudes towards the past:

The Past
I noticed people tend to dwell on the past and/or neglect the past altogether. As much as we wanted to, I think human being are incapable of completely erasing our past memories. And the past will to a certain extent shape who we are today. On the one hand, we should not dwell in the past. It's been well said that we are the products of the past, but should not be the prisoners of the past. On the other hand, we should not neglect the past, but ought to learn from it and change. People say experience is the best teacher. I simply disagree. Reflection on the experience is. We can have many experiences, but never learned a single thing from it.

In Genesis 50 we read the account of Joseph finally met face to face with his brothers. They were all scared to death. Their dad, Jacob, had died, and all they could think of is Joseph's vengeance towards their evil acts. They were even willing to be his slaves. Yet, to their shocking surprise, Joseph said: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

Joseph was not trapped in the past. He saw his past painful experiences as special ways in which God shaped him for his future. When he was sold as a slave by his brothers, God walked with him. When he was accused by Potifar's wife and jailed, God strengthened him. He did not blame anyone nor the circumstances. When Joseph looked at the past, all he saw is God's faithfulness towards him. All those tough moments in his past has been the 'school of suffering' that God put him into. The purpose? To be the most effective logistic manager/political leader in the entire Egypt.

The Bible chronicles many characters who, in obedience to God's call, had to go through many uncertainties in their lives. Job, for example, was faced with an extreme dose of harsh reality that made him shaken to his core. He did not know how to live in his present time. He groaned, and questioned God. But as Philip Yancey wrote, God did not answer Job, He exploded. Instead He reminded Job of their respective positions as Creator and created, Infinite and finite, God and man.

I can relate easily with Job, but not with Joseph. Whenever things get rough, I remember Job, which reminded me that my problems are no where near his. Not in a million years. Once I tried to seek a satisfying answer from the Bible on how I should live in the midst of the uncertainties. But there were no such answers. What I found was this. God repeatedly introduced Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He kept reminding the Israelites: Remember that I am their God who is sovereign and prove Myself faithful to My promises. Isn't that beautiful? I don't know about you, but drinking on that gives me strength to face the present and future time.

In fact, isn't that what faith is all about? Faith is trusting God for the future on the basis of what He did in the past generations after generations. Don't get bogged down with the past, or anxious about the future. Face the new year with the courage from God knowing that we can hold His sovereign hands.