TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 8: 1 (NIV-UK, 1984 edition)

The knowledge that our sins are covered by faith in the crucified Christ is a relief so magnificent that it is like starting life anew, the opening of the windows to let in the fresh air.

Even so, life is never going to be perfect, and on occasion the old condemnation will raise its bristly head and attempt to convict us all over again.

This is a private, distressing struggle which many Christians face on a regular basis. And though this is a part of the overall human experience, the conscientious and sensitive feel the agonies more keenly.

There are times in our lives when we say and do things we later regret and of which we feel ashamed.

How we would like to go back in time and do better or, rather, undo what we have done!

Youth, inexperience, sexual passion, ego, ambition, worry, and a multitude of social or peer pressures may have contributed to our follies, bringing out the worst in us, and causing harm to others. Despite the mitigating factors and the amends we have made, we often still feel the full weight of responsibility years later.

The ‘if-only’ syndrome is familiar to most of us.

This need to make amends, to recover lost opportunities, to repair shattered relationships, to ‘start over’, is one of the most common of human experiences, and finds its source in the inherent dissatisfaction with which humanity is afflicted and flows from its broken relationship with God.

But all things considered, our faith in and full acceptance of a forgiving Christ brings a ray of light to the gloom.

Pride, greed, hostility the emotions which underlie many of our sins all these must submit daily to the rule of Christ in the believing heart. Freed from the power of these and other compulsions we will find ourselves able to take fresh stock of the world around us, adjusting our goals and affections in line with the mind of Christ. And we will surely grow in grace.

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2016. ukbiblestudents.co.uk

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