Past

When children are guided by their parents, they are able to remain within the confines of safety.

Cain Carrying Abel (Unknown)

They say that the child is the father of the man.

And that paradox holds very true.  What it really means is that the experiences of our past influence the person we become in the present day.  If we live in a certain way in the past, it will establish the patterns and behaviours in us that influence our present behaviour and establish our contribution to the world.

And this seems to be an almost universally acknowledged fact.  After all, there are so many best-selling self-help books written by successful people which advocate building healthy habits to anticipate growth and development in the future.

And I have been thinking about that, because the fundamental basis of this is how we develop in the virtues to prevent sin.  You see, when se create strong positive habits in terms of the virtues, what we are really doing is creating a scenario where we are able to practice good behaviours so that we can build character in our soul so that we can do things the way that God would want us to do them.

“I think most people have felt this. Looking forward to the temptation they anticipate, they know that they can resist, or, at any rate, that they can avoid it; and looking back after the sin has been committed, they are filled with shame and remorse and self-condemnation. But at the moment it seemed as if all the succours of their nature fell back and they were swept away in the strong currents of blinding passion. And this is undoubtedly true. Who would be so rash as to assert that at any moment every man is free without impediment to choose as he wills? That the action of the will is unhampered by the past? That however often a man has yielded to a sin, at any moment the will is absolutely free from the power of that sin?” (Basil W. Maturin, “Christian Self-Mastery page 97).

And I have been reflecting on that.  Because it seems that though we should be able to build these strong habits through the practicing of the virtues, our sinful nature works against us and this sinfulness means that we are unable to really rely on ourselves and our own devices to be “good”.  And I suppose this is why God asks us to be His CHILDREN.  Because children can be guided by their parents.  And that is a very important thing.  For when children are guided by their parents, they are able to remain within the confines of safety.

And I suppose that the only true freedom is the ability to look at the past as an avenue for the future potential that is only possible through the Grace of God.  And when I stop and think about that today, I am overwhelmed.  For God made me in His Image and then He decided to help me to get better – even though my past is clear evidence that I have failed and will continue to fail over and over and over again…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.