All three of these words, in the title of today’s devotion, are included in another wonderful word – salvation! Pastor Rick Warren shares the following beautiful thought: “Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured.”1 Let’s take a closer look at what these three words, and the time periods they represent, mean for the Christian.
Our past has been forgiven
Before I became a Christian I constantly worried about what people thought of me, the mistakes I made, and the people I hurt by the many bad decisions I made. To know that somehow all of my hurtful decisions in the past could be forgiven would certainly alleviate my heart from constantly thinking about my bad choices in life. But it wasn’t until I accepted Christ into my heart that I began to understand that these bad decisions were not just bad choices but often sinful behaviors.
But I praise God that I now understand how my sins of the past, which kept me often in bondage to guilt feelings, no longer have to enslave me because God has granted me forgiveness. Granted some of the consequences from my sins, I still must live with, but I no longer have to live with the incredible guilt that sin can bring. As a Christian I no longer have to live in the past and all of the ugly feelings my sins may have caused. Knowing that I am free from the bondage of sin, I believe, is one of the most liberating feelings a person can have.
Our present is given meaning
Before God saved me my whole life was consumed with a constant search for meaning. At age 27 I embarked on a serious one year quest to find what my purpose in life was. I must have read over 25 books on all kinds of subjects from transcendental meditation, to Eastern mysticism, to Silva Mind Control. I even visited a Buddhist Monastery in New York City. The end result of my search was that I had more questions about what life was all about than before I started my quest for meaning.
It was only when I gave my heart to Jesus that I learned what my purpose in life was. Simply stated it is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Now my life is overflowing with rich meaning and as a result I experience peace and joy in abundance. Before I came to Christ peace and joy were almost nonexistent in my life. Today, I look forward to each new day as an opportunity to glorify Jesus, and enjoy this great adventure called life.
Our future is secured
As a young boy I never thought much about the future. I lived in the now and thought I would live forever. However, as I grew older I began to realize that I wasn’t going to live forever, and that my future was anything but secure. In fact, fear began to grip my heart not knowing when I would die and would death be the end of my existence. But when I experienced the salvation of the Lord, I began to realize that I no longer had to fear physical death because my eternal future was secured by Christ’s death on the cross. Eternal life was promised me not because I was good but because my sins were forgiven. I now no longer look at death as final but as the beginning of a new phase of my relationship with Christ.
What a glorious thought that I no longer have to live with guilt from the past, that every day is filled with excitement and rich meaning, and my future is not only secure but eternal!