I imagine that the relationship between God and us is much more different than any of us can imagine. We are looking at a holy thing (holy - utterly other, completely different) with a worldly perspective. In the book of Isaiah God says:
"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.
'As the heavens are higher than the earth
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV
Does God look at us with disappointment and sadness when we continue to come to Him for help with something out of our past we just can't seem to let go of? Or, does He look at us with love? Does His heart break over the pain He sees us living in - and in many cases, putting ourselves through?
Jesus Christ - true man and true God - paid the price for our sin and failure through His death on the cross. God saved us from the sin separating us from Him while we weren't worth saving. Our sin and failure, our bad choices and poor decisions, no longer keep us from God. Many of us live our lives carrying the weight of our pasts when there is no need. We hold on to the ghosts of who we were instead of embracing the life that God has given us. Does this excuse us from the consequences of our actions? Are we protected from the effects of someone else's choices? No, and yes.
We still live in this fallen world and are held accountable for our choices. God can work in any situation for our good and His glory. He has a plan for us and He knows just how long it will take us to walk any distance. The purpose of this life is not to get somewhere. There is no destination we will get to and then... ...whatever. The purpose of this life is the journey to wherever we are going. We can't say: 'Some day I have this and then...' or 'When I get to that place I will...' We will live an unsettled life of little fulfillment. It is an existence of attaining things and achievements only to seek after the next one. The idea that is conveyed in that notion is not a walk with God, but chasing after Him.
Can we release our past? I think that the better question is can we embrace God's plan for us today? Can we allow God to change our focus from what was and might be to what is and can be. Can we strive for that goal that lies ahead by running the race that is before us today? Can we see that God's ways are so much higher than our that maybe He doesn't react to us how we would react to someone else? Can we ask God to help us see Him as He is and not as we would have Him be? What would this new perspective begin to change in your relationships, life, and faith?
