Some major issues that threaten healthy family life are the hurts and failures of the past. I refer to hurts and failures as one because the points at which one fails usually becomes a hurt on the mind and it keeps haunting you preventing your progress.
For instance, if your husband used to be a non-resident father who will only come home after spending his earnings on loose and riotous living like the prodigal son. But, unlike the prodigal, he kept going back to his vomit month-in, month-out till he contracted HIV which brought him to his senses and back to God and then home.
Maybe your situation is not that grievous, your wife simply embarrassed you amidst your peers when she said something out of turn and since then you’ve been afraid to take her out to public functions. Perhaps, it’s your son that brought shame to the home when he jilted your family-friends’ daughter.
God’s panacea comes to all ailing families today. Those hurts and failures belong to the past, so LEAVE THEM THERE! Don’t carry yesterday’s burdens into today. The sinner has repented before God and received forgiveness; this is the most important part of the matter. If your heavenly Father has forgiven him/her then you need to follow suit as His child. God forgives every sinner who comes to Him in repentance. ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’1 And for the saints that have erred in someway in the past, God’s position is clear- ‘My dear children, I write these things so you may not sin, and if anyone does sin, we have a counsel for our defense in the Father’s presence, Jesus Christ the righteous one’.2
Forgiveness came by the cross, that’s where God dealt with the sin problem of humanity forever. He punished our sins- past, present and future in Jesus. There remains no more sacrifice for sins than that which has been made- Jesus died. Thus, God has legal grounds for forgiving and forgetting our sins.
Therefore, we ought to extend grace to this repentant member of our family, STOP viewing the person in the light of the past because God does not do that, He Himself took our sins far from us as far as the east is from the west. The way to deal with past hurts or failures is to take on God’s view point which was displayed in the story of the prodigal; His father ran to meet him and threw a welcome party as though the boy had been a good ambassador of the home all the while. He believed the best of the boy and treated him like a king. Love covers a multitude of faults and expects the best always. Show God’s love; don’t let what has happened in the past affect your family relationship and you’ll realize as you choose to extend grace that it’s not as difficult as you thought because you’ve been wired to live and act like God- your Father.
Scriptures:1 1John 1:9, 2 1John2:1
ASSIGNMENT: Read the story of the prodigal son once again [Luke 15:11-32] and post your comments about the love displayed by his father and the elder brother’s approach to the matter.
– Dr ifelayo ojo
One Comment
Denus
Although i didn’t read the story of the prodigal son again because i’ve read it over and over, but i tried to go over it again in my mind …
It’s really nice the way God forgives us despite what we have done or we can do,
I’m aware of all the profits of redemption through Christ but these days I do fall in one particular error that i feel if i were God, i will smash my head ..
You know it’s bad to know that something is wrong, to tell others that it is wrong and later go ahead to do that wrong thing. I find myself in similar situation these days.
Though from the story of the prodigal son, i know God has forgiven me but it keeps hurting … and hurting and hurting and hurting
Sometimes i wonder may be the prodigal son kept feeling bad even after his father’s reception.
Thanks for your article anyway.