In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “This one thing I do: Forgetting what his behind and straining toward what it ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
In many ways, Paul writes this letter showing his brothers and sisters in the faith how they might experience joy in the midst of adversity. A key to finding joy in life is to forget what lies behind so that we can truly live for what lies ahead. It is hard for us to focus on the future when we are carrying around the burdens of our past. Think about an athlete running a race. The track is laid out in a circle. If the runner is looking over his shoulder from the moment the race begins, he will never know when to turn through the curve and he will eventually run off the track. That same runner will also never be able to run his best race if he is loaded down with weights.
Paul encourages us to throw off the weights of the past so that we can run a better race now. Paul encourages us to forget what lies behind (live forward) so that we can focus on our future. He knows that he is not perfect: “Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on.” This reminds me of Paul’s words in chapter 1 and verse 6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We will not obtain the prize for which God has called us heavenward until the day that Jesus Christ returns. However, the joy in the Christian life is living with the confidence that it is already there, secured by Christ, waiting for us the day he comes to take us home.
We can break the power of the past by living for the future. We must surrender our past to the cross of Christ. We do not completely erase those moments from our memory because that would be impossible. What we must do is release those moments so that they do not consume our thoughts and rule our hearts. We must release those moments so that they do not manipulate our lives any longer. Our past can be either the lead weight that holds us back, or the inspiration that speeds us into our future with God.
Paul also writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Another key to finding joy in life is to keep our mind on heavenly things. Paul cautions the Philippian believers that there are some who live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their minds are on earthly things; their destiny is destruction; their god is their stomach; and their glory is in their shame. We must become allies of the cross of Christ. Our mind must be on heavenly things; our destiny is perfection; our god is the only true God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe; and our glory will be in the resurrection.
We live our lives focused on our promised resurrection. Paul reassured the saints in Rome that if we are united with Christ in his death (through our baptism), then we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. That is something worth living for! What on this earth could bring anyone more joy than to know that when they die it is not the end of their journey, but the beginning. As believers in Christ, we need not fear death, for it has no mastery over us. Because we have released our past to the cross of Christ, and Jesus has washed us clean, Jesus will return and we will participate in the resurrection.
We live our lives focused on our promised eternity. Jesus himself told his disciples that his Father’s house had many rooms, and he was going to prepare a room for them. And he added that if he was going to go to the trouble of preparing a room for them, he would certainly come back to get them. We are not promised anything on this earth. If there is one thing that life in this world has taught us, it is that there are no guarantees. That is one thing that changes when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We are guaranteed a resurrection. We are guaranteed that life after the resurrection will be eternal and lived in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. All we have to do is get there and check in! How much would our lives and attitudes change if we chose not to be weighed down by the burdens of our past, and we instead decided to rejoice and look forward to our guaranteed future?
Life lived in the past is not life at all! Living in the past, haunted by the things we cannot change, will certainly rob us of our joy and kill our witness as followers of Christ. To achieve and experience true joy in this life, we must be people that are always looking forward: never back!
In many ways, Paul writes this letter showing his brothers and sisters in the faith how they might experience joy in the midst of adversity. A key to finding joy in life is to forget what lies behind so that we can truly live for what lies ahead. It is hard for us to focus on the future when we are carrying around the burdens of our past. Think about an athlete running a race. The track is laid out in a circle. If the runner is looking over his shoulder from the moment the race begins, he will never know when to turn through the curve and he will eventually run off the track. That same runner will also never be able to run his best race if he is loaded down with weights.
Paul encourages us to throw off the weights of the past so that we can run a better race now. Paul encourages us to forget what lies behind (live forward) so that we can focus on our future. He knows that he is not perfect: “Not that I have already obtained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on.” This reminds me of Paul’s words in chapter 1 and verse 6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We will not obtain the prize for which God has called us heavenward until the day that Jesus Christ returns. However, the joy in the Christian life is living with the confidence that it is already there, secured by Christ, waiting for us the day he comes to take us home.
We can break the power of the past by living for the future. We must surrender our past to the cross of Christ. We do not completely erase those moments from our memory because that would be impossible. What we must do is release those moments so that they do not consume our thoughts and rule our hearts. We must release those moments so that they do not manipulate our lives any longer. Our past can be either the lead weight that holds us back, or the inspiration that speeds us into our future with God.
Paul also writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Another key to finding joy in life is to keep our mind on heavenly things. Paul cautions the Philippian believers that there are some who live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their minds are on earthly things; their destiny is destruction; their god is their stomach; and their glory is in their shame. We must become allies of the cross of Christ. Our mind must be on heavenly things; our destiny is perfection; our god is the only true God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe; and our glory will be in the resurrection.
We live our lives focused on our promised resurrection. Paul reassured the saints in Rome that if we are united with Christ in his death (through our baptism), then we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. That is something worth living for! What on this earth could bring anyone more joy than to know that when they die it is not the end of their journey, but the beginning. As believers in Christ, we need not fear death, for it has no mastery over us. Because we have released our past to the cross of Christ, and Jesus has washed us clean, Jesus will return and we will participate in the resurrection.
We live our lives focused on our promised eternity. Jesus himself told his disciples that his Father’s house had many rooms, and he was going to prepare a room for them. And he added that if he was going to go to the trouble of preparing a room for them, he would certainly come back to get them. We are not promised anything on this earth. If there is one thing that life in this world has taught us, it is that there are no guarantees. That is one thing that changes when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We are guaranteed a resurrection. We are guaranteed that life after the resurrection will be eternal and lived in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. All we have to do is get there and check in! How much would our lives and attitudes change if we chose not to be weighed down by the burdens of our past, and we instead decided to rejoice and look forward to our guaranteed future?
Life lived in the past is not life at all! Living in the past, haunted by the things we cannot change, will certainly rob us of our joy and kill our witness as followers of Christ. To achieve and experience true joy in this life, we must be people that are always looking forward: never back!
2 comments:
I loved this! One of my favorite country songs is "No More Looking Over My Shoulder" by Travis Tritt. Great message in it! You can not hold on to the past and reach forward at the same time. Thanks for the reminder!
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