Saint/Sinner
Dan kunz
Some of you may have heard of Senator John F. Kennedy of the state of Louisiana. Conservative news sources use his sound bites quite often. He has a down-home, country sense of humor paired with a great deal of common sense, not unlike Will Rogers, of the first half of the Twentieth Century. His aphorisms are usually pointed and memorable. One of his recent quotes particularly struck home. He was speaking about someone who had stumbled and fallen in the way he lived his life. The person was humble and contrite, sorrowful and apologetic. Senator Kennedy pointed out that Americans tend to be very forgiving when the wrong doer is sorrowful and repentant. This is how he summarized why: “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” What a beautiful description of all of us!
If you are a regular reader of these blogs, you know of my friend, Thomas, who is a master at making bad choices. Time and again, he does something foolish and ends up in trouble. You’d think someone who has spent more than a few years behind bars would eventually learn his lesson, keep on the straight and narrow, and live his life outside of jail or prison. Thomas can do that for periods of time but usually ends up falling to temptation and is in trouble once again. He has enough “past” for a hundred people. He knows who his Savior is, however, and even though he fails a lot, Thomas is apologetic and contrite – repentant. He sounds a lot like me, and maybe, you.
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of St. Augustine. Although raised in a Christian home, with devout parents, St. Augustine rejected his upbringing and lived a lifestyle far removed from his childhood faith. He had several mistresses, an illegitimate son, and chased earthly pleasure with reckless abandon. After decades of hedonism, he, like the Prodigal Son, returned to his roots and became one of the pillars and most prolific writers of the early church. He was a saint who definitely had a past, but, because of his return to Christ, also had a future. He lived his final years in a monastery as a celibate priest, producing more books relating to Christianity than any other writer of his time.
Even more important than his future as a champion of the Christian faith, was his future as a child of God and an heir of heaven. The same is true of us. We all have events and actions from our past which could and sometimes do haunt us, but, through Christ, we also have a future to be an “influencer” for him and, even better, we have a future in his Kingdom someday. We have a God big enough to create an entire Universe. We have a God big enough to keep that Universe operating exactly how it should be. We have a God big enough to devise a plan to rescue us from our sin and big enough to carry it out. Giving us a future in this life and the life to come, is not too big for him!
Take John Kennedy’s statement and insert your name in place of “every saint” and “every sinner”. It becomes both a confession and a statement of faith – an awesome statement, indeed. Philippians 1:21 Yes, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.