Don't
Look Back...Press On!
The damaging effects
of sin and the rigors of the Christian life can seem overwhelming. But
in Philippians 3:13-14, the inspired apostle Paul sets forth an uplifting
approach to life.
Of all Paul’s epistles, the letter to the church at Philippi is the
most personal. It reveals more of the apostle’s philosophy of life
than any other. Within that treatise is this most enlightening affirmation.
"Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one
thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching
forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal
unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phi.
3:13-14).
This declaration has a threefold thrust that may be depicted as: recognition,
resolution, and reward. Consider these.
Recognition
There is the sober recognition that even in the best of saints, there
is always room for growth. The indefatigable apostle, far above the
common man as he was, acknowledged that he had not yet “laid hold”
(cf. 12). This, incidentally, reveals that Paul did not subscribe
to the notion that his salvation was so secure that it could never
be jeopardized (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27).
As long as we abide in the flesh, we will experience spiritual lapses
that break our hearts. Each day we will strive for a mastery of the
soul over the body. There always will be theological questions that
puzzle us. Unless one recognizes, with brutal honesty, this reality,
and learns to live with it without giving in to abandon, he will never
know contentment.
Resolution
One must resolve to forget the past and stretch toward the future.
We should make this observation regarding “forgetting.” While one
technically may not be able to “forget” his past, he may firmly determine
that such events will not cumber his life. Let us now reflect upon
the divine instruction concerning Christian resolve.
Former achievements can never be a substitute for present service
to the Lord. Paul had an illustrious Hebrew background (Phil. 3:4-6),
but from the Christian perspective, all these trophies were deemed
as rubbish (3:8).
As one develops an increasing level of spirituality, he well may
wonder how he ever could have committed some of the gross sins that
once dominated his life. He may grieve deeply over his wayward ways,
as apparently Paul did his (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15). One must learn, however,
to accept God’s wonderful grace, as offered in the plan of salvation
(Acts 2:38; 22:16). We cannot change the past; we can only live in
the present, and look toward the future.
The wise person will forget the barbs that have wounded him in former
days. If others have abused you, and you have made a legitimate effort
to bring them to a state of repentance, put it behind you and move
on. Don’t carry that hateful burden on your back forever. This is
the equivalent of "spiritual baggage". Imagine carrying
your 3-piece Samsonite luggage filled with bricks of anguish everywhere
you went; through each room in your home, to the mini-market, the
grocery store, the mall, even the church.
Memory can be a door to apostasy. Many a man has let his thoughts
linger on an old “love affair,” or on the “good ole days” when he
visited the “honkey tonks” and played poker with the guys. Those alluring,
worldly ways must be banished from the mind as much as is humanly
possible.
One frequently needs to make a mental severance with his former religious
practices. The ex-Catholic sometimes complains that he misses the
pageantry of that system. The former Pentecostal occasionally longs
for that “gospel boogie woogie” that kept him charged up in years
of yore.
Not only are we admonished to forget certain things, we are encouraged
to “stretch forward” and “press on” toward life’s goal, the heavenly
prize. In the Greek Testament, both of these verbals are in a present
tense form, suggesting the constant exertion that each Christian must
manifest. There is to be no crown without first a cross (Lk. 9:23).
Reward
Finally, there is, at the end, the prize. The apostle would later
write: "...I have finished the course, I have kept the faith:
henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day..."
(2 Tim. 4:7-8).
Philippians 3:13-14 contains a valuable concept designed to help regulate
the Christian’s life. It reflects a comprehension of current realities,
it enjoins the need of concentration in our present endeavor, and
it promises a glorious consummation.
