Wednesday, December 12, 2012

the past affects the present…

i love this time of the year, all the lights, all the parties, all the friends, all the presents.  i really like the presents, to open the presents and i really like to give the presents. 

but we are not going to talk about presents.  no we are going to look at the present and the fact that your past affects your relationships in the present.   i want us to look at one of the greatest causes of why people have bad relationships and that is they don’t let go of the past.  holding on to the past and its effect on the present.

it doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, how famous you are, how many things you have in life, if your relationships are bad, life is miserable.  it just doesn’t matter a whole lot.  your happiness is largely determined by your ability to get along with other people.  the bible is the greatest book on relationships. the bible talks about building a relationship to GOD and a relationship to each other. 

philippians 3.13-14 (niv), i do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  but one thing i do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, i press on toward the goal to win the prize for which GOD has called me heavenward in CHRIST JESUS.

paul is pointing out a fact:  he says i let go of the past and strain toward the future and he’s making a point that we need to learn in relationships – fact: i cannot relate to the present if i’m still reacting to the past.  we bring so many unresolved problems into our current relationships.

just a thought from the front porch… 

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