How long has it been since you have watched or read a Christmas Carol? I haven't seen it in years, but I can still picture some of the encounter between Scrooge and his three Christmas visitors. The ghost of Christmas past takes Scrooge back to his childhood and his abandonment by his family, to an engagement broken off because his love for money had outpaced his love for people, and to other moments of brokenness and isolation and bitterness that had developed over the years. Even as he sees joy-filled moments, in the present he can only look at those as treasures left unappreciated and eventually lost.
The ghost of Christmas yet to come (future) takes Scrooge to an equally unpleasant place where all of our fears for the future come together: disliked by others, every penny earned now in the hands of others, appreciated more as dead than if he were alive. The sobering journeys to the past, present, and future spur a realization in Scrooge; a change must be made, lessons must be learned, a new person must emerge.
Our relationship with God has something to say about both our past and our future. God's love and His grace greet you with words of forgiveness that tear down the barriers between anything in your past and Him. That doesn't mean that consequences may endure, but God's forgiveness and the love He has for you in Jesus ensures that your past does not preclude you from a relationship with God. I love the Day 33 emphasis on God's forgiveness for our past and His faithfulness for our future. All of our past failures and our future fears we can entrust to God. The past, present, and future can all be surrendered to God, placed in His hands for safe keeping and guidance... for He is full of forgiveness and forever faithful. What is God calling you to let go of and turn over to Him, either from the past, in to present, or down the road in the future?
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