Peter Scazerro’s book, “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” is based on the premise that it is impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. One of the ways we remain emotionally immature is by failing to break free from the power of our past.
When we say, “Yes” to Jesus Christ, are sorry for our sins, and completely commit our lives to Jesus, we become a new creation. The Bible says the old is gone and the new has come. You and I are new people in Christ Jesus. My mistake was believing my past no longer had any implications on my present and my future.
Scazzero sums it up in two essential biblical truths:
1. The blessings and sins of our families going back two or three generations profoundly impact who we are today.
2. Discipleship requires putting off the sinful patterns of our family of origin and relearning how to do life God’s way in God’s family.
The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis gives us a model of how to go back to go forward. Young Joseph was immature and he grew up in a family that brought lying, half-truths, secrecy, and jealousy to a whole new level. Joseph became an emotionally and spiritually mature adult who lived out his destiny in God.
> Joseph had a profound sense of the bigness of God.
o Know that God is at work in every situation.
> Joseph admitted honestly the sadness and losses of his family.
o Do not resist going back and feeling the hurt and pain of your past.
> Joseph rewrote his life script according to scripture.
o Consider the script handed to you by your past and then open a door to God’s future by rewriting it with God.
> Joseph partnered with God to be a blessing.
o Daily choices centered around your own walks with God are critical for you to serve as an instrument of blessing to many.
Going back is a journey to be made with trusted companions in the faith. Going back in order to go forward is something you must do with mature friends, a mentor, or counselor – people who will help pull you back from the gravitational pull to past sinful destructive patterns of your family.
When we say, “Yes” to Jesus Christ, are sorry for our sins, and completely commit our lives to Jesus, we become a new creation. The Bible says the old is gone and the new has come. You and I are new people in Christ Jesus. My mistake was believing my past no longer had any implications on my present and my future.
Scazzero sums it up in two essential biblical truths:
1. The blessings and sins of our families going back two or three generations profoundly impact who we are today.
2. Discipleship requires putting off the sinful patterns of our family of origin and relearning how to do life God’s way in God’s family.
The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis gives us a model of how to go back to go forward. Young Joseph was immature and he grew up in a family that brought lying, half-truths, secrecy, and jealousy to a whole new level. Joseph became an emotionally and spiritually mature adult who lived out his destiny in God.
> Joseph had a profound sense of the bigness of God.
o Know that God is at work in every situation.
> Joseph admitted honestly the sadness and losses of his family.
o Do not resist going back and feeling the hurt and pain of your past.
> Joseph rewrote his life script according to scripture.
o Consider the script handed to you by your past and then open a door to God’s future by rewriting it with God.
> Joseph partnered with God to be a blessing.
o Daily choices centered around your own walks with God are critical for you to serve as an instrument of blessing to many.
Going back is a journey to be made with trusted companions in the faith. Going back in order to go forward is something you must do with mature friends, a mentor, or counselor – people who will help pull you back from the gravitational pull to past sinful destructive patterns of your family.
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