I know a young man who I appreciate greatly who continues to plead for a pardon from “his
past,” when there is nothing about his todays that looks any different from his yesterdays. He
gets agitated when people equate his present behaviors with his past behaviors; however, in
love, it only seems loving and logical to point out that there is not any difference in what those
around him can see. He calls the assessment of the on-lookers judgment; the onlookers view it
as reality, though in grace they call it discernment. It is heart-breaking, to say the least.
I know a young lady whose heart was broken by the behavior of a prodigal while she was
walking in faith. Sadly, as the story goes, the prodigal has returned (in some sense), while the
young lady has taken up a lifestyle of squandering her inheritance, both physically and spiritually
speaking. There are those of us whose desire is to gently restore her; however, our gentleness is
again being perceived as judgment, rather than as the loving act of grace and restoration that
it’s intended to demonstrate.
There is something beautiful about being able, and willing, to put the past behind us. The
trouble is, though by linear thought and definition the past is all that is already behind us –
having already transpired, when it comes to behaviors the past is only the past when the
present looks different. I cannot call something a “past behavior” if I am presently conducting
myself in that same fashion that I have previously done. No, it is considered a past behavior
when my present behavior is markedly different than the behavior with which I once struggled.
Does this mean that there will not be moments when my present behavior will not have
similarities to my past behavior? No, it does not mean that at all. We all have tendencies to
resort to old behaviors that were once a pattern of our lives; however, wisdom and reflection
quickly encourage us to redirect into the new patterns of behavior that we’ve established. It
happens to all of us. Just ask my wife!
Now, lest I allow this to come across as my own “psycho-babble,” everything aforementioned is
a part of our spiritual reality, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). We are sinful; we do sinful things; however, we don’t have to hang out there, as we “are
justified by [Christ’s] grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans
3:24). We all have a choice, to either live in the justification that is ours in Christ or to live in the
separation of a life surrendered to our sinfulness. We cannot, however, live in both.
As we celebrate independence, let’s not just look at it in light of our national heritage. More
importantly, let us look at our independence in light of our spiritual heritage: we are either
slaves to sin, or slaves to righteousness. Paul reminds us that “you are slaves of the one whom
you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience which leads to righteousness”
(Romans 6:16). For those who are in Christ, Paul offers an encouraging reminder: “But now that
you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to
sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:22-23). That, my friends, is independence!