I want to tell you 2 stories as a guide for our thoughts. Both of them are true. The first one goes all the way back to the early 1920s and comes out of the US, in Chicago. There was a man who was called Easy Eddie, who was the defense attorney for Al Capone, one of the most powerful gangsters in the Chicago area at that time. Everything went through him and a lot of crime was on the streets because of him. The federal government was trying very hard to put him away, but each time, Easy Eddie would find some loophole and get him out.
This went on for a long time and Easy Eddie had "a wonderful life"; he had a house the size of a block, completely fenced in, with live-in help, and so on. He also had a son, and as time went on, he realized that while he could give his son everything materially that his son could want in life, the one thing that he couldn't give was a good name. This was because Easy Eddie was known as Al Capone's lawyer.
As his son grew, so did Easy Eddie's conscience. Finally, he went to the Feds and told them that he would find a way to help them to bring down Al Capone. And they did. The IRS came in and they were able to put him away. Easy Eddie had, as you would expect, a tragic end to his life. He was shot in an alley and killed. That was his life.
The second story is about a Lieutenant Commander Edward O'Hare. As a young pilot, he was flying in World War 2, and got a message that there were 9 enemy fighter aircraft bombers that were coming towards the USS Lexington. So he and his wingman went up and, just as they were engaging with these fighter aircraft bombers, the wingman's gun jammed. Edward O'Hare took on these 9 aircraft and shot down 5 of them and hurt another one, so that it also had to return to base. He came back a hero. He was given the Congressional Medal of Honor. Many people talked about the valor of that day and how brave he had been to take it on single-handedly.
Unfortunately he died young. He died at the age of 29; in fact, he was shot down a year after that incident. But his city couldn't forget what he had done. In fact, if you fly into Chicago today, you'll find that the airport is named after him – it's the O'Hare Airport.
Well, what's the connection between these 2 stories? Lieutenant Commander Edward O'Hare was Easy Eddie's son. And as I thought about those 2, two thoughts came to me and I want to share them with you. The first is: it's never too late to do the right thing. Today, the right thing for you and me may not be doing something like what Easy Eddie did like turning in his boss because he was a gangster. But it could be that there are things that are going on that are wrong, not only around you, but within you as well. It could be that you are involved with something; there's anger that is spoiling the very harmony of a home. Or other things like addictions, alcoholism, addictive behaviors that you know are not right. And yet you know that it's not helping your family. Maybe today's a good day to say, "That's a good story and I am inspired by it. Maybe I should put an end to the wrong that is in my life and do the right thing."
Our Scriptures say that God is light and in Him there is no darkness. I always say that if we move away from the darkness, that is, those areas that are wrong, and come to the place of right, then the Almighty God is able to work with us and is in our corner.
The second point that I want to leave with you is: Don't let your past define your present or shape your future. It doesn't matter what kind of a past you've had, don't let it, in any way, define the things that you do in your present or in any way mold your future. That is in your hands. Just as Edward O'Hare, the son of the attorney to a gangster was able to come out and do something worthwhile with his life. You and I also can do that, regardless of our past – what kind of an upbringing we've had, whether it was bad, or had a rough time growing up, there was no money. Whatever it is, today you are in charge of shaping your future and grasping the present and writing a brand new story.
There's a beautiful song that I love that goes like this:
I know who holds the future,
And I know He holds my hand;
With God things don't just happen;
Everything by Him is planned.
So as I face tomorrow
With its problems large and small.
I'll trust the God of miracles,
I'll give to Him my all!
I think if we give Him our lives and say, "Lord, You show me how I can take my present with all its problems and situations, and the things of the past that are trying to impinge upon the present." He will help you shape your life and give you a wonderful beginning that is removed from some of the harsh things of the past.
So 2 thoughts:
· It's never too late to do the right thing.
· Don't let your past define your present or shape your future.
May I pray with you? Almighty God, for each one who reads this post, bring to mind those things that may be wrong in our lives that we need to right. Give us the moral conviction to do what is right in our lives. For those who have had a terrible past, who just have everything stacked against them and feel that the past is eroding their present – Lord, put a full-stop to it. Let them know that with You at their side, they can write their present that is beautiful and good that will shape a wonderful future for them. Bless each one, Master, in Your name and under Your authority, Lord Jesus. Amen.
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