On Sunday, Pastor Elly shared the beautiful story of God’s grace throughout her life; framing her testimony in three “boxes” of the past, present, and future. It is critical to one’s spiritual health, vision, and passion to have a healthy rhythm between these three boxes.

The Past: Where has God brought me from?
The Present: Where has God brought me to right now?
The Future: Where is God leading me?

I often share with others how it’s important to have three kinds of relationships in your life at any given time: a mentor (to pour into you), a peer (to journey alongside), and a mentee (to pour into). In a sense, however, we all have this trinity of relationships available to us in the form of our past self, our present self, and our future self. If we don’t pay attention to all three of these persons, we run the risk of malnourishing one or more vital spheres of our self-awareness.

As we reflect on our past, we both celebrate and mourn. The victories and grace that have led us here, coupled with the failures and sins that stir regret and shame. Nevertheless, our past selves have mentored us — for better or for worse — to this present moment.

As we consider our present, we are both grateful and anxious. The countless blessings that surround us and fill our lives with joy, side by side with the flood of negative emotion and circumstance. Our present selves force us to come face to face with the NOW of our existence.

As we are drawn forward into the future, we are both hopeful and fearful. The anticipation of eternal life and the fulfilment of God’s plan, sadly paralleled with the terror of our own inadequacy and doubt. We are subconsciously mentoring our future selves by the way we plan and act right now.

But no matter what your boxes look like, I urge you to ultimately consider your life in light of God’s boxes:

The beauty of God’s grace is that He meets us where we are, and suddenly we recognize that we are on sacred ground. The mystery of the cross is that God’s omnipresence became embodied, intimately entering into our suffering with and for us. The glory of the gospel is that our story is an indispensable yet microscopic part of His story…and that is UNTHINKABLY Good News.