(Psa 25:7) Do not remember the sins of my youth . . .
When we look back over our life we have a lot to be thankful for and how far God has brought us. We also have a lot of things we are regretful for, especially those sins of our youth. Those are the things that embarrass us to no end. We wish they had never happened. We never want to discuss them and we hope that nobody brings them up. But they did happen and every now and then they pop up in our thoughts and we must deal with an unsolicited reminder. What should we do at these times? How do we deal with the sins of our youth?
I think the first thing we must do is take those thoughts to the cross. Jesus died for us and has washed us from all our sins. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us and put us in right standing with God. We are now fully justified before a holy God by the merits of Jesus on Calvary. So when the thought of your youthful sins come back for an unwanted visit, then introduce them to Jesus! They won’t want to stick around. (Rom 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus . . .
Secondly, let’s think of our youthful sins as a way to keep us humble. Sometimes pride gets the best of us and we can get an inflated sense of ourselves and our achievements. But one thought of our youthful sins might be the very thing to pop our balloon. I think often of Peter who every time a rooster crowed probably remembered how he denied the Lord. No wonder he spoke of humility in his epistle: (1 Peter 5:5-6) . . . be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
I remember my dad saying if I went out for track he would buy me a Ludwig drum set. That was the coolest offer ever because that is what Ringo Starr of the Beatles played. But back then in sports you had to cut your hair and I surely didn’t want to do that. Everyone was growing their hair out and I didn’t want to be uncool. So I turned my dad’s offer down. How he must of just shook his head. But now every time I hear a good drum beat I think of my youthful foolishness.
Youthful sins are costly. But if we know God’s grace, they don’t have to come back to haunt us. In fact, God is able to even take our stupidity and somehow turn it around for good. David went on to pray in his psalm: (Psa 25:12-13) Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. 13 He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.
By the grace of God I learned to play the guitar and have led worship for the glory of the Lord. And my daughter became a drummer! Only God can do that. Satan is such a loser!!
Louie
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