The promise of a heart that gives life
A unique and unusual event was held in Whangarei, New Zealand in May, 2019.
It was called “Precious Memories” and involved singing some of the great hymns in remembrance of our shared heritage. Christians gathered from various churches to be part of an enjoyable time that stirred the heart.
It may surprise you that such an event was neither boring nor irrelevant. One reason is that it brought into focus a very powerful influence common to us all: our memory.
Memory contributes to our quality of life and future. We cannot escape it because it is like a filing cabinet within our mind. We refer to it constantly and every now and then it springs open to reveal something we thought was long forgotten. That can be both a blessing and a curse.
The blessing is found in joyful memories that contribute to our feelings of wellbeing and significance. The curse lurks in the dark memories of regret and injury that still carry a sting.
What can we do when we are haunted by dark memories? Here are three options:
1. Suppress Our Past. This involves trying to bury the memory deep within us. One problem with this strategy is that our perceptions are linked to our memories like a trigger to a gun. For example, a man who once dropped an anvil on his toe relives the memory every time he sees an anvil. This shows us that we can only bury our memories in a shallow grave.
2. Lie About Our Past. This approach has a variety of manifestations, for example, pretending the event never happened or reinventing it in some way. Such a response actually adds to our pain. Not only do we still carry the hurt associated with whatever happened, but also guilt is added through lying. And all of the time the truth sits buried under the blanket of the lie, inside the true memory. This creates considerable tension for a tender conscience.
3. Bring Our Past to Jesus. Every memory within us is more clearly understood in the light of God’s love revealed in Jesus. The Gospels contain many examples of hurt and damaged people having a life-changing encounter with Him, for example, the woman at the well in John 4:1-26.
She had been married five times (verses 16-19). Think of all of the bad memories she must have accumulated. Many years of her life had been eaten up by a series of relationships that ended painfully, presumably by death and divorce.
Jesus saw past her sadness to the person within and she felt His acceptance. He offered her the provision of “living water” within her leading to eternal life (verse 14) – one benefit being refreshment of heart through His influence. In her heart - that place of dark and shameful memories – He promised a flow of life greater than the darkness.
The good thing about flowing water is that it washes away impurities; still water holds them, only to have them become more corrupted. For the woman at the well, the stillness of regret could be replaced by a flow of love and power bringing cleansing, healing and hope.
Many Christians testify to instant solutions for a problem, others experience improvement over time, and others again receive comfort knowing positive change awaits them in eternity. I suppose each is true for most sincere believers in different areas of human experience.
Our past is our past and, whether it was good or bad, a future with Jesus is far better. Today belongs to Him and so does tomorrow for those who put their trust in Him.
Wayne.
To learn more about Wayne’s book, Revelations of the Kingdom for Suspicious Minds, read his blogs, or to make contact with Wayne, visit waynejohns.co.nz
