The Past Does Not Matter

Rosa believed in God in her youth and was one of the many people in Cuba who later professed unbelief after the teaching of scientific atheism was instituted following the 1960s. What sets her story apart from those of my father and José, which I recounted in earlier meditations, is that Rosa did not wait until the final moments of her life to take the road back.

Her decision was costly and difficult, but it allowed her to express her faith and enjoy not only renewed, vital communion with her God, but also the Christian fellowship she so badly needed.

She was a very active believer during her adolescence. As she later recalled, those were the happiest and most beautiful years of her life. When she fell in love with an unbelieving man and married him, she turned away from the faith and gradually entered a world of complete unbelief, rejection of religion, and hostility especially toward Christians.

A teacher by profession, she became the principal of a secondary school, where she stood out not only for her ability and efficiency but also for her harshness toward young students who openly said they were believers. She mocked them publicly and—why not say it?—mistreated and discriminated against the Christians at her school. When her husband, who had led her into atheism and strengthened and sustained her in it, died prematurely, Rosa felt that her life was empty. To her own astonishment, she discovered that her attacks on Christians sprang from a kind of hidden pain and resentment: she admired them and grieved that she herself had been unable to remain faithful.

Happy memories of her youth in the church assailed her and stung her like goads. One day, obeying an inward impulse, she entered the church in tears and, in a few minutes, told me her story. Weeping uncontrollably, she listened to the Sunday school lesson and dedicated her life completely to the Lord once more. I must confess that several members of my church distrusted her because they knew about her earlier conduct toward believers at the school!

Nevertheless, her subsequent conduct dispelled every doubt, and she was welcomed into the congregation. Rosa had truly returned to God in repentance. She therefore enjoyed precious moments in her life as she returned to church and experienced fellowship with the sons and daughters of God. The day of her baptism was quite a celebration, and she felt an inexpressible joy. How joyfully she came to every church activity! I have seen few people take such delight in my preaching and teaching.

The difference between Rosa’s story and those told in earlier meditations was that she made her decision in time and was able to enjoy the Christian life openly. God’s forgiveness is boundless, and he welcomes everyone who seeks him, no matter when in life they do so. The Bible teaches that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness (1 John 1:9).

God bless you all!