Writing the Rest of It
"But He is writing the rest of it..." It is a phrase that I have pondered and considered for many months, since it was first spoken to me in April.
I was at a weekend conference in Wyoming where Eric and Leslie Ludy were speaking. The theme was "When God Writes Your Love Story," adapted from one of their books. Appropriately a part of the weekend conference was devoted to relationships and allowing God access to that area of your life. And as I have mentioned in previous posts why would we not want the creator of the universe to script a magnificent story for us rather than we ourselves attempting something that could gain no more notoriety than a common trade paperback found at your local supermarket.
After the conference a woman came up to me (I happened to be working at the book table) and shared something that has deeply impacted me ever since. She said that God may not have had the pen of her life and particularly her love story when she and her husband had gotten married, but that He was WRITING THE REST OF IT.
Writing the rest of it.... In a perfect world, a world lived out in the Garden of Eden our lives would have had the beautiful scripting of God from start to finish. Not that He is not in control of our lives, but that the painful scars of sin, gained from trying to live our own lives the way we want, apart from God and His protection, would not be present. And so for each of us there is a time when we walked not with God. For some of us it is longer than others. For myself the period that I walked in ignorance to God believing I was a Christian all the while living a life that was anything but honoring to Him was painfully long.
But by the Blood of Jesus Christ I have been made new, the painful scars that my sin inflicted upon me have been healed and I have been set free from their condemnation. And the boast of that is in nothing save Jesus Christ and Him alone: To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace... Ephesians 1:6-7. Knowing the lively hope that I now have in Jesus Christ, I walk in newness of life that is His life in me!
There are times though where I hear or see God working in a life who has yielded to Him from an early age and does not necessarily carry the scars that I do. This is the time that regret can creep in and vain wishing: If only I could turn back the hands of time, if I only knew then what I know now... What I have learned is not to give into such things! Once you come to Christ and repent of a life lived apart and against Him, and seek Him- He makes you new, that old life (or old man as the Bible calls him- Romans 6:6) is dead crucified on the cross and you are now alive to Christ. He may not have had the 'pen' to your life then but He has it now and is writing the rest of it!
I love that statement! And you can be sure that in it God will be glorified. Further encouragement in those times when regret and sadness appear would be to turn your own experiences to further the kingdom of God. The fact the it took you ________ many years before you came to God should compel you to speak to those around you still in the pain and clutches of themselves. I speak of my God and my savior Jesus Christ because of the love He has shown me and the freedom I have found, and the peace I have. My God is good and in all things because He is God, He should be praised. And it is for that reason alone that I am telling you, run to Jesus Christ. May you not only be changed but may you go out and tell others of the great God you have!
Psalm 96 1:5 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all the people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens!...
I was at a weekend conference in Wyoming where Eric and Leslie Ludy were speaking. The theme was "When God Writes Your Love Story," adapted from one of their books. Appropriately a part of the weekend conference was devoted to relationships and allowing God access to that area of your life. And as I have mentioned in previous posts why would we not want the creator of the universe to script a magnificent story for us rather than we ourselves attempting something that could gain no more notoriety than a common trade paperback found at your local supermarket.
After the conference a woman came up to me (I happened to be working at the book table) and shared something that has deeply impacted me ever since. She said that God may not have had the pen of her life and particularly her love story when she and her husband had gotten married, but that He was WRITING THE REST OF IT.Writing the rest of it.... In a perfect world, a world lived out in the Garden of Eden our lives would have had the beautiful scripting of God from start to finish. Not that He is not in control of our lives, but that the painful scars of sin, gained from trying to live our own lives the way we want, apart from God and His protection, would not be present. And so for each of us there is a time when we walked not with God. For some of us it is longer than others. For myself the period that I walked in ignorance to God believing I was a Christian all the while living a life that was anything but honoring to Him was painfully long.But by the Blood of Jesus Christ I have been made new, the painful scars that my sin inflicted upon me have been healed and I have been set free from their condemnation. And the boast of that is in nothing save Jesus Christ and Him alone: To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace... Ephesians 1:6-7. Knowing the lively hope that I now have in Jesus Christ, I walk in newness of life that is His life in me!
There are times though where I hear or see God working in a life who has yielded to Him from an early age and does not necessarily carry the scars that I do. This is the time that regret can creep in and vain wishing: If only I could turn back the hands of time, if I only knew then what I know now... What I have learned is not to give into such things! Once you come to Christ and repent of a life lived apart and against Him, and seek Him- He makes you new, that old life (or old man as the Bible calls him- Romans 6:6) is dead crucified on the cross and you are now alive to Christ. He may not have had the 'pen' to your life then but He has it now and is writing the rest of it!
I love that statement! And you can be sure that in it God will be glorified. Further encouragement in those times when regret and sadness appear would be to turn your own experiences to further the kingdom of God. The fact the it took you ________ many years before you came to God should compel you to speak to those around you still in the pain and clutches of themselves. I speak of my God and my savior Jesus Christ because of the love He has shown me and the freedom I have found, and the peace I have. My God is good and in all things because He is God, He should be praised. And it is for that reason alone that I am telling you, run to Jesus Christ. May you not only be changed but may you go out and tell others of the great God you have!Psalm 96 1:5 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all the people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens!...
