Article February 23, 1998 Issue

Want to revise your past?

You can know the freedom of a fresh start.

By Mary Klingbeil Schultz

Is It Possible to go back and change things that happened in the past? I asked myself that question for years, particularly during a time when I was trying to gain more peace about my past. I've found that the answer involves, in part, taking a radically different look at forgiveness and also at what has really permeated our lives.

The Bible has helped me do this. As I studied it, I came to feel that the resurrection of Christ Jesus rewrote all of human history. To me, his victory has given everyone a fresh start. After the crucifixion, people feared his great mission had come to an end. That was the way history would have recorded the event if his enemies had succeeded in destroying him.

Jesus' resurrection did not change the cruel fact of the crucifixion, but it did wipe out its effects. It turned tragedy into a triumph. It also challenged the fundamental beliefs people had about the nature of life—and it is still challenging them. I know this, because Jesus' example gave me great comfort as I was praying to redeem my own past.

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