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Lesson from The Past
Yenny Kartika Official Writer
12192 Timothy 4:11b
Get Mark and
bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.
Bible Reading for a Year [bible]psalm119:89-150[/bible];
[bible]ijohn4[/bible]; [bible]ezeki46-47[/bible]
We all have
some regrets about the past, sins, and mistakes. We feel a lot like the Peanuts
comic strip character, Linus. He once said, “Maybe we should think only about
today.” Another character, Charlie Brown, disagreed, “No, that’s giving up. I’m
still hoping yesterday will get better.”
We cannot
change what happened in the past. But we can learn from yesterday’s sins and
mistakes. Along with God’s help, the experience can guide us to make a better
tomorrow.
The biblical
figure John Mark had the same experience. In the beginning, he started on a
missionary journey with Paul and Barnabas, but when they entered Asia Minor he
abandoned them and went back home. ([bible]0acts13:13[/bible];
[bible]0acts15:38[/bible]). There’s no explanation of why he left, but the
apostle Paul saw it as a shameful desertion.
Later, Mark
became a co-worker with Barnabas ([bible]0acts15:39[/bible]). No one knows the
details, but at some point Mark must have changed and reconciled with Paul
([bible]colos4:10-11[/bible]). When Paul was in prison awaiting execution, he
asked Timothy to come and to bring Mark with him. He indicated Mark was ‘useful
to me for ministry’ ([bible]iitim4:11[/bible]).
We cannot
erase yesterday but we can learn from it. When we humbly take our sins and seek
His help, the better future is waiting for us.
Failure is never final if you begin
again with God.
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