Most of us have seen the timeless Christmas classic, “The Christmas Carol,” in which a miser, aka, selfish man, gets visited by three ghosts. The first ghost is Christmas past, the second ghost is Christmas present, and the third ghost is Christmas future. Now in all these scenarios the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is being shown how his actions from the past have an affect on the future. And that being stingy and selfish only lead to an empty and lonely life in the end. In our everyday lives and especially during the Christmas season how many of you are carrying these same ghosts? How many are allowing the actions of the past to have a negative affect on your right now? It’s time to give up your ghosts.
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” Isaiah 43:18
Let’s first begin with the ghosts of our past. Okay, now I have been guilty of this too, I have allowed many of my past mistakes to manifest themselves in the blessings I recieve now. I will second guess the blessing, wonder if I deserve the blessing, deny the blessing, and even down play the blessing. I would also allow people in my life, to analyze my blessings and tell me what to do with them. And we all know not all relationships are healthy for us, except for our relationship with God. So many people who are often dealing with their own issues, in their unhappiness, will pull me down with them. We can get to a point where we can finally move forward and learn from our past mistakes. But, in moving forward you have address the Ghost head on. Are you strong enough to do that?
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8
Next we will talk about the ghosts of our present. Most of us, have the everyday ghosts that we struggle to get past. Whether it’s the ghost of resentment, anger, pain, rejection, or anything that we come across in our daily comings and goings; we have it hovering over our shoulders. This is why we pray and talk to God everyday to keep these ghosts in perspective. He is the only one that can guide us in facing the ghosts of our present head on. And we have to be strong enough to overcome these ghosts. It’s hard to push forward without God.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Finally, let’s tackle the ghost of our future. Just like in the “Christmas Carol,” everything we do from this point on will have a tremendous affect on our futures. Scrooge was able to have a sneak peak of his future in order to realize the changes he must make today. But in reality we can only have the hope and faith to believe in better futures for ourselves. Christ died for us, to ensure our future years ago, but it is up to us to take that gift and use it to help others who are lost. We can decide right here, right now, to make a positive change to ensure a positive future. We do not need to meet our ghost of the future to know that how we are today will be our legacy that we leave behind. And during the Christmas season, especially, we all tend to get wrapped up in our money, our stuff, our everything forgetting the true reason for every season.
Your time, your love, your giving, and your connection is what will be remembered for generations after you have gone. This Christmas and every Christmas should be a time to give up all those ghosts you have carried for the year so that the new year can always be faced with new hopes, new dreams, and renewed faith. You do not need to be Scrooge to get visited by your ghosts, you just have to use the right weapon to exercise them. And in the famous words of Tiny Tim, “God Bless Everyone!” You got this!
Sincerely,
Terryn
MODERN FAITHERELLA 