Traveling in a Future-machine

Read: Genesis 35:2-7

Then Jacob said unto his household…Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God.                                  Judges 35:2-3 

     The idea of a time machine has always been interesting to me. I know it is impossible to travel back in time, but I’ve always thought it would be an unbelievable experience. If you could go back and watch one event, which one would you pick? The parting of the Red Sea; David fighting Goliath; the crucifixion of Jesus; George Washington in action during the American War for Independence; or one of the thousands of other events in history you could choose from? Think about this: if you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?  Would you tell the ten spies it was safe to go into the land of Canaan; would you tell the Confederate soldier not to shoot because it really was Stonewall Jackson; or would you go back only a few short years and change a dumb decision that you made yourself? Did you tell a lie you wish you hadn’t told? Did you compromise the purity you wish you could have preserved? Did you violate a trust or ruin a reputation that you can never completely regain? The questions are as endless as the possibilities for change.

     But let’s forget about changing the past. Just like riding in a time machine, it is an absolute impossibility, and we all know it. How about focusing on something in the future that you can change. If you could change one thing about the way you are living right now and there would be no consequences, what would you change? Would you read your Bible more? Pray more? Show more respect for your teachers and parents? Start listening to their advice? Get rid of a bad friend or two? Step away from a few wicked things you are addicted to online? It would be impossible for me to list all the things that you could change. But the point is this: if there is something that you could change, then you should do it regardless of what the consequences might be. That bad friend may get upset at you if you separated; your parents and teachers may die of a heart attack if you started showing respect and asking for their counsel; and you might even shock yourself into some medical problem if you started making the right decisions. The consequences of making a right choice are unimportant. You see, God cannot bless your life if there are things that you know you should change but don’t.

     We all agree that there is no way to travel into the past, and that there is no way to change it; but we haven’t made it into the future yet, so it can still be changed. One small change at a time will ensure that you have a bright future that will be blessed by God.

Quote of the day: “No past defeat puts future victory out of reach.”