I've discovered that my friend isn't alone. We often think we should mask our painful pasts lest people think less of us. But the truth is, the more we peel back the veneer, the more others' respect for us grows.
I love the way the old King James Version renders the words of Isaiah: "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD; look unto the rock, whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged" (51:1). What excellent advice!
Isaiah's words come from a context where God showered grace upon an impossible situation. The prophet is writing to Jews who could easily forget their dark and dreadful beginning. He is urging them to remember how their nation got its start. It all began through the life of one man, Abraham, who lived in the idolatrous land known as Ur of the Chaldeans. What a hellhole of paganism! Out of that dark and dreadful existence, Abraham emerged at the age of 75, along with his wife, Sarah, age 65. And from those two came Isaac, the promised son.
As we read in the New Living Translation, "Abraham was only one man when I called him, but when I blessed him, he became a great nation" (51:2). From the pit of paganism, that one man became the father of the faithful. What hope that gives to us all!
None of us has a lily-white past, and before we get all enamored with ourselves, it's a good idea to take a backward glance at "the hole of the pit" from which Christ has lifted us. Admitting our pasts keeps us all on the same level—recipients of grace.
Even those we admire in the Bible have holes from which they were dug. With Moses it was murder. With Hosea it was a failed marriage. With Joseph it was a dysfunctional family. With David it was lust. With Rahab it was prostitution. Some of God's most effective and respected people have crawled out of the deepest, most scandalous holes anyone can imagine. And it was that which kept them humble, honest individuals. -Chuck Swindoll
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