Terminator Salvation Lesson

Recently the movie Terminator Salvation was on tv. Having read in some publication that it had some redeeming points in it I set the dvr to watch at a later time. I'm not even sure if I have even seen any of the Terminator movies, but I did know what the plot line was. As I watched the ovie there was a scene where Marcus (who had killed some people in his past) said to the girl," I'm not a good guy." To which she responded," You are, you just don't know it yet."



Often we make the mistake of defining ourselves by our past mistakes. Sometimes we even let others define us by our past mistakes. One of the wonderful truths we learn from reading the Bible is that we all have pasts that we aren't proud of. Why is that wonderful? Because once we realize the reality of that truth the pressure is off to try and be perfect. When we realize that truth we can move on with our lives. Not in a," hey nothing I did in the past matters" attitude, but in a "now that I know no one is perfect what do I do now" attitude. We don't have to let our past define us.

In all of us is a desire to make the right choices in life. We may not do it, we may ignore the voice, but the desire is still there. It may have been many years since we did what we knew what we were supposed to do. We may have a habit that we know isn't good for us, yet we keep doing it over and over. You may be like Marcus in Terminator Salvation and think," I'm not a good guy (or girl)."

You may have messed up, but you still were made in the image of God. There is something in you that wants to do good. You can, but you can't do it in your own strength (you probably know that by now). So why not ask Jesus for help? He's not shocked at your past. In fact, He paid the price for our sins.

The man who wrote most of the New Testament was a man named Paul who had in his past persecuted the church. He sent Christians to prison. But He came into contact with Jesus and his life changed. If ever there was a guy who could say of himself, 'I'm not a good person' it would be Paul. But Jesus changed all of that. Read how Paul describes it:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief ; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.   1st Timothy 1:12-16

If Jesus did it for Paul, He can do it for others. He has done it for others. There was good for Paul, he just didn't know it. Don't let your past define you. You aren't the mistakes you have made with your life. You were created in the image of God. Find freedom and forgiveness in Jesus and watch what He can do for your life. There can be good in your life, you just don't know it yet.

Troy