Closure!

But I, yes I, am the one who takes care of your sins; that’s what I do. Isaiah 43:25

I think we would be hard pressed to find a person in this world who doesn’t need some sort of closure in their life. It could be the closure of a hurt, a misunderstanding, a relationship, a mistake, an injustice, a betrayal, a friendship, or multiple other things. Closure is defined as the resolution or completion of a life event, problem, or situation, and we all need it at one time or another.

There’s just a time that comes when we know that it’s time to shut the door on the past and move on to the future. Something that happens just makes us know it’s time for closure. Joyce Meyer said it this way, The devil wants each of us to concentrate on how far we have fallen, rather than how far we have risen. He would love us to focus on our past rather than our future and how far we have come. God wants us to focus on our strengths and not our weaknesses, our victories and not our losses, our joys and not our problems.

I personally know how hard it gets at times and in situations to put a closure to things because our human tendency is to think that if we do, it’s over. I’m here to tell you that putting closure to the past is freeing, and it means a new beginning. For example, when we set out to buy a new home, there has to be a closure on the property. The house closure is a transferrence of property ownership. The current owner relinquishes the property to the new owner. Actually, it’s not an ending but rather a new beginning for both parties. Neither party would be able to reach their goal if they decided to hold onto the past.

Rick Warren likens closure to a trapeze artist who swings out on one bar and then has to reach out and grab the other. At some point, the artist must let go of one bar in order to grab the next one or they are left hanging!

Some closure is more dramtic than others. For example, I can’t even imagine what Noah must have been thinking when God shut the door to the ark leaving him aboard with his wife, three sons, and their wives plus a whole lot of animals! God provided closure for Noah by shutting the door. He implemented closure and began the pattern of new life, a new beginning, and a new environment. While Noah and his family were aboard the ark, transformation happened. They learned the worth of God and that He, and He alone forgives our sins and leads us.

It takes this kind of transformation for us in our lives to achieve closure. In Phillippians 3:13-14, Paul concertedly decided to put closure to things when he wrote, But one thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. He decided that if he didn’t do anything else, he was going to do one thing. He would not allow past circumstances and situations to stop him from fulfilling his purpose. He believed God, he trusted God, and he relied on God.

Sometimes it’s hard to look back on hurts and bring closure. The story is told of a minister’s wife who came back to a former church for a funeral. She was greeted at the door by a man who never really liked her husband, but he greeted her warmly. She thanked him, but she couldn’t resist turning around to look at the beautiful campus and buildings which were built during their tenure. She remarked, “Look at all this! My husband loved it all.” The man obviouosly mishearing the words couldn’t wait to tell the new minister what he thought she had said. He mistakenly said, “She said her husband built it all.” The next day on Facebook was a post from the minister which read, “Only God can build a church.” She knew immediately what had happened, but she couldn’t bring herself to confront him and get closure. It’s hard when a wrong has occurred, and you never get to tell your side of the story!

There’s one thing I’ve learned when we get to a dead end in our lives, life isn’t over. We just need to change directions. God did just that with Noah, and in His infinite wisdom gave mankind another chance to get things right. He put out a detour sign. Christ never lost the focus of His purpose even though He took a detour by coming here to live amongst us. We need to be just as adamant as Paul was and say to ourselves, no matter what I’m going through, I am bringing closure to the mess. It’s finished! I’m forgetting what’s behind and pressing forward.

Socrates says it this way: the ultinate goal of human existence is not just to live, but to live a good, meaningful, and virtuous life. As they say in the movie industry, That’s a wrap!!