Benched by Your Past

During the NFL 2015 Pre-Season, Buffalo Bills running back Bryce Brown found himself on the bench and later cut from the team after his third fumble.  I am sure it will be difficult for Brown to get another chance in the NFL with that past.

Maybe you feel that way in your life and your service to God.  Maybe someone has even told you that you are benched.  Some churches have rules that say if you have certain things in your past you cannot play an active role in kingdom work.  Divorced?  Sorry, you are on the bench.  Jail? There is the bench.  Sexual sin?  Don't even ask.

Jesus said that we are to "Repent, the kingdom is near."  Repent means to change your mind.  Maybe we need to repent of our flawed thought process on who can be used in the kingdom of God.  John 4 the interaction of Jesus and a woman from Samaria is recorded.  If there ever was a person that deserved to be on the bench, this lady was it.  Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have jus t said is quite true.” This lady was from the wrong side of the tracks (Samaria), divorced several times, sexually immoral, and an outcast in her own society and in her own mind.  She did not come to draw water from the well with the other women in the village.  She came by herself because she knew she was not welcomed.  Jesus helps this lady change her mind and immediately puts her to work for the kingdom.
 
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.  39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

What in your past do you need to repent, change your mind about, that is holding you back from participating in kingdom work?  We might bench ourselves, but God never puts us on the bench.  He might send us to the locker room for some time of healing.  However, when we come back out, he expects us to get back in the game.  Just like this lady that Jesus was interacting with, he often uses that past to help others.  Get in the game.  There is no one else to fill your position.