Skip to main content

Reflection for the Purpose of Correction

There are two times a year I get reflective.  One is at New Year's time.  The second is on my birthday.  Perhaps this is true for everyone, but I always find myself in the midst of self-assessment at these times.  Luckily my birthday is in June so that makes for a nice time of reflection every six months.  

Recently, I have begun to doubt the value of reflection in my life for a couple of reasons.  Reflection almost inevitably leads to regret.  Regretting things that were done or things that were not done.  This is not necessarily wrong if done properly but the truth is that most of us do not do  it properly.  What do I mean?  The type of reflection that most of us engage in is inherently self-centered.  We linger long in thought over our missed opportunities or perhaps wrong that has been done to us.  That is not the way God calls us to live. It is right and proper to think upon what we have done if we have unconfessed sin in our lives or wrongs that we need to make right with God and others. However, we should only linger in thought long enough to repent and seek to restore relationships through biblical reconciliation.  Apart from that, brooding over the past can lead us into sin as we ignore our obedience in the present. Reflection without action will lead us either to idolatry because of perceived successes in the past of ungodly anxiety as we wring our hands over a past that cannot be changed, only repented of.  Paul is clear on the Christian's relationship with the past: 

Philippians 3:12-14 -12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

What is your relationship with the past?  Is it idolatry? Is it shame? Go ahead and reflect, but make sure your reflection includes healthy doses of God's word and leads to repentance, correction, and moving forward "toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus".

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dropping the Ball in Evangelism-My Recent Failure

I have been letting it stew in me all weekend.  I have shrugged it off.  I have talked to God with no real assurance.  I have racked my brain for an excuse.  The inescapable truth is that as a minister, a follower of Christ, and a leader of young people I dropped the ball.  Let me tell you this story so that you may not do the same. Friday night my lovely wife Sarah and I took a Wal-Mart trip to Culpeper, Virginia.  Because I ignored an initial warning sign my car gave me we ended up broken down on the side of the highway between Culpeper and Orange.  It was bad enough to be broken down, but it was worse to be broken down with two little boys who were already up past their bedtime.  To make matters worse I did not have my cell phone for the first time ever and my wife had few if any numbers of people from the church or friends that we might call for assistance.   Thankfully, Sarah was able to get in touch with the Lee family. W.T., who ...
3 comments
Read more

Good Ole Boys and the Loss of Southern Manhood

As my life has gotten busier, I have listened to less and less music through the day.  When I drive I listen to preaching or talk on the phone.  It is simply my reality.  I might even pray a little.  However, a few weeks ago I got the chance to go to a Southern Gospel concert.  That is immaterial, but I heard a song that has stuck with me.  It is called Good Ole Boys. The sound is not great on the video. This song has stuck with me because it has mirrored my life.  Look, it's no secret the way I used to live my life.  It was rough.  It was rowdy.  It was sinful.  I am ashamed of it and I am not here to brag about sins of my past.  The reason I am approaching this subject is because I was the quintessential Good Ole Boy the song mentions.  If you asked people to describe me from age 16 to 22 they might have even used those words paired with some other colorful vocabulary.  I am from the great Southern state of Arka...
Post a Comment
Read more

Far From God

There are times in our life and in our walk with Christ when things just seem to be sideways.  Some call it a desert experience, a dry spell, or just feeling distance from God.  One of my favorite preachers talks about being "dry as cracker juice".  Here is the problem with being in that place.  When we are not in a place where we feel immersed in the living water offered by Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit we, like other dry things, are in danger of crumbling. It happens to all of us.  There is an old preaching illustration about an older couple riding down the road in an old pickup with a bench seat.  As the man drove his wife, who was seated against the passenger door said "honey, whenever we were younger and rode down the road in this old truck we always sat a lot closer together". The man, with his hands on the steering wheel said "Honey, I am not the one who has moved". This is a picture of us with God.  When we feel distance, it is ...
Post a Comment
Read more