The Baby & The Bathwater – Build a Strong Life - Tuesday
Today’s Verse
John 8:11b
Go now and leave your life of sin. (NIV)
I’m a big Winnie-the-Pooh fan.
Yeah, I said it.
Growing up in the early nineties, most toddlers my age were. With all my stuffed animal friends spread out across the living room floor, I practically was Christopher Robin—all the way down to the haircut and short shorts.
So, when Disney announced a live-action version of the story would be released around my twenty-fifth birthday, I was one of the first in line to see it.
In the movie, Ewan McGregor plays Christopher as an adult—a now workaholic father who’s outgrown his child-like sense of wonder. However, once he’s reunited with his friends from Hundred Acre Wood, Christopher quickly realizes his “silly-old-bear” Pooh is still just as whimsical and as wise.
In a scene where Christopher anxiously tries to navigate his way, Pooh calmly replies, “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I’ve been…” It’s a line that’s perfect for children—but even more poignant for adults. It’s one of those phrases that makes you pause, reflect, get a little choked up (at least I did), and think about where you currently are in life and where you actually want to be.
A woman in John chapter 8 had this kind of moment after getting caught in the act of adultery. She was dragged into the temple courts by the teachers of the law, who suggested to Jesus that she should be stoned to death. Although we tend to focus on the grace Jesus extends this woman by not condemning her, we sometimes miss the truth He also gave her immediately after: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Jesus understood that this woman’s actions had led her to a very broken place. But He also made it clear that in order for her to walk in the new life He was offering, it would require her walking away from where she’d been.
I’ve never been caught in the act of adultery (although I’ve certainly been guilty of it in my own heart), but there are plenty of things I need to walk away from on a daily basis in order to walk with Jesus. Luckily, Jesus doesn’t hold where we’ve been in life against us—He just focuses on where He wants us to go.
I don’t know where your own sins have led you. What I do know is that according to Jesus, you can always get to where you’re going by walking away from where you’ve been.
Jesus, and Winnie-the-Pooh.
REFLECTION
Is there a bad habit or sin you need help walking away from?
Check out how our Care Ministry can help!
