In this episode, we will be talking about making peace with our past. We’ve appropriately titled this podcast the journey because essentially life is one long journey filled with many different journeys. Often in life, we have difficulty with our past. We wrestle with the past, the past versions of who we were, the mistakes we made, poor decisions we took. We look at how we could be somewhere far better in life if we hadn’t made certain choices or missed out on certain opportunities.
Once again, this topic is taken from a sermon by Bishop T.D. Jakes of the same title. One of the main things we will need to learn how to do in life if we are to continue to make progress is to learn how to make peace with our past. We’ve got to learn how to not let certain losses overwhelm us and discourage us from trying again. We should not let certain terrible decisions we made in our moments of weakness label us and imprison us in the past.
In 2 Timothy 4:5-8, 14-22 we read some of Paul’s final words. This epistle by Paul is of a different nature in that he has become seasoned by the trials and tribulations he has gone through for the sake of the gospel.
This epistle of Timothy is a pastoral epistle. They are not so much apostolic or global in their view. They are not preoccupied with the governance of the church, but rather they take on a more intimate tone. They have the tone of a shepherd to his sheep Paul who has now become a seasoned minister, in these epistles is feeding with seasoned food. It is like fine wine that has gone through maturation. To be seasoned, we must endure and go through fluctuations. It is not age and time that causes us to be seasoned and mature, it is the experiences we’ve been through. Paul is at that point where he claims he is about to be offered up, little by little, all his trials and tribulations have taken something out of him, and he is down to his last drop. And we get to taste his final thoughts, that rich residue that only comes with being seasoned through life’s trials.
In the end, the most important question we have is -- was it worth it. Was the journey worth it? All the sleepless nights, the trials, would it all be worth it in the end. That is the real question we need an answer to, and that is what will motivate us to make peace with our past in order that we can make progress to where we ultimately are being called to be.
We can learn something from this passage of Paul’s final teachings of how to make peace with our past and with ourselves. The main thing we learn from Paul on how to make peace with the past can be seen in 2 Timothy 4:7. Paul claims that he has fought the good fight, he has finished his race, and he has kept the faith. Notice Paul does not say he has won the fight or even won the race, but that he kept on fighting, kept pushing on, and pressing ahead. We can continue to wallow in the past and allow our past to keep us as prisoners. Or we can continue to fight and press on. We can fight to be better people than we were in the past. We can fight to press on on the race that is in front of us. We will lose some fights and some races. We will miss opportunities. We might mess up quite badly on the journey ahead and even be surprised at times how low we have stooped or allowed ourselves to go. However, as long as we keep fighting and keep pressing on, we will be able to say as Paul one day,
I have fought the good fight, I have finished my race, and I have kept the faith.
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