Don't let your past define you

Something I've said the past two weeks at Hub City has been this statement: Even though our past shapes us we don't have to let it define us.

The reason this is such an important truth for me is that I see so many people who live lives that are defined by their pasts. It doesn't have to be that way. God doesn't want your life to be that way.

Think about Peter. Here was a guy that was one of Jesus' best friends. He, along with James and John, spent the most time with Jesus. But on the night before Jesus was crucified Peter did the unthinkable. He denied he ever knew Jesus.

Now, if you were Jesus, and you were God, and you came back to life after the crucifixion, what would you say to Peter?

I'm pretty sure I'd want to have "the talk" with Peter. But Jesus does something different.

Even after Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus never mentioned what Peter had done. He never brought it up. 

That's some serious grace.

Now why didn't Jesus bring it up? I think it's because Jesus didn't want Peter's past to define his future.  

And he doesn't want your past to define your future either. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17