Can My Past Threaten My Future?

Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.  Genesis 11:27  ESV

Ten generations after Noah, through the blessed lineage of Shem, Terah was born.  Though Shem walked with God, it didn’t take long for his descendants to be become polytheistic.  Their prominent god was the moon.  In later times, with moon worship in tact, food was laid out at night to absorb the rays of the moon, which were thought to have power to cure disease and prolong life.  Not much has changed, really.  One of the most beautiful and current songs of our day is made famous by the talented Celtic Women.  The name?  The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.

It was in this spiritual environment that Abram was born.  His home was not ‘Yahweh friendly’ yet it was out of his family line that Jesus would be born.  Can children with holy callings arise out of spiritual wastelands?  Yes!  A resounding yes. 

That answer should comfort any who fear that their past is too scarred for God to use them.  We place far too much emphasis on our past to try to determine the possibilities of future success.  We fear for children if we have an unbelieving spouse, fearing that the ungodly influence they suffer at home will prevent them from hearing the call of God in their lives.  Yet how many Christian leaders, like Abram, have come to faith simply by coming face to face with Jesus Christ!

Once God decides to open the eyes of an unbeliever to the beauty and glory of His Son, Jesus, any degree of spiritual blindness is instantly cured.  Nothing can stop or hinder it. A child of an alcoholic, a child of an atheist, a child of a pedophile, any of these could be the next evangelist.  No toxic childhood environment can thwart the call. 

What kind of obstacles have me worried today about a relative, friend, spouse, or child?  Do I really believe their spiritual condition to be hopeless?  How small is my God!  How puny is my faith!  Abram, growing up with gods on the shelves in his home, is about to hear Yahweh’s voice for the first time.  Like Saul, it will be such a powerful encounter that he will sacrifice everything to follow.

Give me the grace to kill all despair with faith!  In Jesus’ name, Amen