THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

Moving is not entertaining but it can be enlightening. Our recent move allowed us to re-discover our belongings that had been buried somewhere. One of them was a picture that Santy and I took the moment we arrived in Hawaii for our honeymoon—almost 35 years ago—where we stand in between two Hawaiians with our youthful smiles. We have come a long way since then and have grown a long while since that beautiful day in Honolulu. Now that picture hangs in our bedroom, a testament to God’s faithfulness and grace.

From time to time God brings into our lives mementos that have gone missing or unnoticed just to remind us where we came from and who we were. These so-called mementos can evoke good and pleasant memories, but they can also bring up painful memories. Sometimes these mementos serve as a reminder of our failures that we’re too ashamed to disclose. The past is still part of the present.
In his book, Thoughts for Life’s Journey, George Matheson calls this difficult past, “cold ground.” Some of us have plenty of cold ground.

We don’t like to reminisce about this cold ground—it’s either too embarrassing or too painful—but from time to time God brings these mementos back into our lives which make us remember this cold ground. Quoting from this book, Pastor Chuck Swindoll in his book, Jesus: The Greatest Life of All, shares this insight, “Ask the great ones of the past what has been the spot of their prosperity; they will say, ‘It was the cold ground on which I was once lying.’ “

The cold ground on which we were once lying turns out to be the sacred ground on which God touched us, filled us, and molded us. Had it not been for that ground, we would have been just the same old self; but because of that cold ground, we’ve become new men.

Pastor Paul