Manning Pastor Sam Livingston: Don't look back - keep your past behind you
Growing up in the North Santee community of Georgetown, South Carolina, my mother would tell us to be home before dark when we were much younger. As we got a little older, we had a certain time to check in after dark. On the way to our house, my grandparents had a huge pine tree in the front yard that provided shade during the summer's heat. This same tree was very spooky, however, at night.
At some point in our lives, someone came up with a tale that a platypus or a plat-eye would show up in that same pine tree at night. To this day, there is no evidence any such thing was ever seen. Nevertheless, walking by that tree at night was frightening. All it took was for somebody to say a platypus was in the tree. From that point, all you heard was feet patting the ground; we would run all the way home. We wouldn't dare look back!
Life in many ways is like us running toward home from something with absolutely no desire to look back. In sporting events, one is expected to glance over his or her shoulder to identify the position of the opponent. We saw in the summer Olympics just a few days ago how not knowing where an opponent was caused several runners to lose a qualifying position. Life, however, is quite different from a sporting event. Our purpose in life is to progress toward an expected end. If asked, I believe all of us want to make it to heaven where we can spend eternity in peace. This can only become a reality if we remain true to our savior and keep our past behind us.
In the gospel according to John, a woman was caught in adultery, and Jesus allowed her to participate in his catch and release program. "And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:3-4, 10-11).
This woman was granted a fresh start by Jesus with an internal promise from her that she would go forward and not look back. Looking back could have caused her to participate in the very thing that she was delivered from. Can you imagine what must have gone through this woman's mind the first time she came in contact with the man she was caught with?
Temptation at the highest level surrounded her. She probably heard voices like: "Go ahead, do it again, or arrange a meeting place. It was so much fun the last time, even though you got caught. This time meet outside of town in a community where neither of you are known."
Please understand, the adversary never stops trying to get us to step back into an era of our lives that we have been delivered from. Jesus' command for the woman who was caught was simple, " go, and sin no more." The best thing that this woman could have done was to keep pressing toward the mark of the high calling of Christ. Looking back could have easily cost her everything.
Are you willing to lose everything for the opportunity to experience your past again? Do not allow anything or anybody to deceive you into revisiting a lustful past when the future is so much more promising. Rest assured that every good, bad and ugly thing done in the past will be offered to you on a daily basis, especially the bad and the ugly!
Stay focused; don't even peek back!
Sam Livingston is pastor of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Manning.