We had viewed the crumbling remains of idol temples in Baalbek. We had walked through the ancient streets of Corinth lined with half-standing walls and broken columns. We had gazed at giant stones outlining erstwhile Egyptian places of pagan worship. Our imagination stretched as we envisioned the long-gone houses and shops of what was once Tyre. We had visited the ruins of Grecian glory at Mars Hill, had observed the armless statues of a former civilization. We had marveled at the remains of the Colosseum. Now our journey was nearing its end. On our last day one intrepid traveller made her way to the breakfast table, took her seat and asked wearily, “Have you seen the ruins of Alta ?” To be sure, we have never forgotten her first name.
The ruins were caused by fire and storm recently in a nearby town. But they speak the same message. Looking to the things of the past - unless they were of the Lord’s doings - cannot strengthen us for today. And broken things lead to new beginnings.
The light of Scripture shines on two passages that illustrate truth concerning the move from a trouble-filled past into a place of fruitfulness.
First, remember Joseph. He had come from the cruelty of what today would be called a dysfunctional family. And now, by the grace and presence of the Lord, he finds himself in an exalted position as prime minister of a powerful nation. He is wed to a priest’s daughter and uses significant names for the two sons of this union. The first is Manasseh (Making Forgetful) and he declares, “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” The name of the second son is Ephraim ( Fruitfulness) and he says, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Secondly, the Apostle Paul in writing to his dear friends at Philippi, recalls the hostility of his younger days when he persecuted the followers of The Way. That is, he did until he met the Lord Himself one day outside Damascus. That encounter made Paul a new man, a man who must tear down the walls of animosity and rebuild a new structure of love where Christ Himself is the cornerstone.
"...This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
The ruins were caused by fire and storm recently in a nearby town. But they speak the same message. Looking to the things of the past - unless they were of the Lord’s doings - cannot strengthen us for today. And broken things lead to new beginnings.
The light of Scripture shines on two passages that illustrate truth concerning the move from a trouble-filled past into a place of fruitfulness.
First, remember Joseph. He had come from the cruelty of what today would be called a dysfunctional family. And now, by the grace and presence of the Lord, he finds himself in an exalted position as prime minister of a powerful nation. He is wed to a priest’s daughter and uses significant names for the two sons of this union. The first is Manasseh (Making Forgetful) and he declares, “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” The name of the second son is Ephraim ( Fruitfulness) and he says, “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Secondly, the Apostle Paul in writing to his dear friends at Philippi, recalls the hostility of his younger days when he persecuted the followers of The Way. That is, he did until he met the Lord Himself one day outside Damascus. That encounter made Paul a new man, a man who must tear down the walls of animosity and rebuild a new structure of love where Christ Himself is the cornerstone.
"...This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
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