Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
Oh Friends, what an important, life changing, message that is! Not only in things pertaining to Christianity in particular, but also to life in general. We ought not to let the mistakes of our past haunt us, but instead, learn from them and move on. Too many of us live with the guilt, remorse, regret, bitterness, etc. from our earlier lives which severely disables us, prevents us from moving forward and improving ourselves and the lives of those around us. We all have goals we want to accomplish, but any negative baggage we’re carrying from the past only hinders and curtails us from accomplishing them. Bruh Paul’s goal was to become a clone of Jesus, as much as was humanly possible. ‘I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ (vs.14) Most of us would consider his education, his privileged position in the Jewish society, his zeal in persecuting the early church, and his law abiding nature as important; ‘But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ…and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.’ (vs.7-8) Wow Friends! Bruh Paul surely was a different kind of hombre! You have to admire his zeal and desire for excellence in whatever endeavour he chose. And after he got converted, brother, his sole aim was to seek righteousness, not through the law, ‘but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.’ (vs.9) And to his everlasting credit, he did make the attaining of faith through the righteousness of Christ, his life’s goal, never wavering from it, not in intensity, desire or physical effort, despite all the adversity he suffered. Now we can understand how he considers the things from his past life unimportant, but surely, with the many and varied places he preached the gospel, the churches he founded and mentored, you’d think that he would have attained a sufficient amount of righteousness to satisfy his inner man. But not so, he sought perfection. He wanted to be exactly like Christ; experiencing His power, sharing His suffering, dying and rising again. That’s why he says with some amount of disappointment, ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.’ He’s walking in newness of life and knows Christ more than most, but not to the extent he considers possible. He believes he can still die more to sin and self. ‘But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before.’ Yes Friends, Bruh Paul was a perfectionist when it came to knowing Christ. Not many of us can be like him in our search and desire to know and be like the Master, but it is a worthy goal to which we can all aspire. It’s also very likely that most of us have not reached anywhere close to our optimum level of spiritual maturity. And this is where Bruh Paul’s principle of letting go of the things in our past, and concentrating on those in our future, comes into play. We can’t achieve spiritual maturity while holding on to our past immaturity. Remember what Jesus said to the fellow who wanted to go home and say goodbye to his family before following Him. ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven.’ (Luke 9:62) Yes people, you can’t look back while ploughing, or you won’t plough straight furrows, which are essential in cultivating large areas. From even the early days, (Gen.19) when Lot and his family escaped the destruction of Sodom, the angels of the Lord warned him not to look back. But as always, somebody doesn’t listen, his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. So Friends, looking back isn’t usually a very wise choice, especially if it’s with regrets, and what if’s, and burdens of guilt. The past is already gone, there’s nothing we can do about it. However, today is here, we can begin something new, only using the past as a lesson, so we don’t make the same mistakes, but always forging ahead, concentrating on tomorrow…and tomorrow… and tomorrow… And with each tomorrow, moving closer to perfection; that righteousness, that faith, that likeness in and of Christ that Bruh Paul so zealously sought, and which we also need to seek. Yes Friends, it’s all a matter of diligently putting our hands to the plough, and not looking back. Much LOVE!…we can do it…if we really try…
Oh Friends, what an important, life changing, message that is! Not only in things pertaining to Christianity in particular, but also to life in general. We ought not to let the mistakes of our past haunt us, but instead, learn from them and move on. Too many of us live with the guilt, remorse, regret, bitterness, etc. from our earlier lives which severely disables us, prevents us from moving forward and improving ourselves and the lives of those around us. We all have goals we want to accomplish, but any negative baggage we’re carrying from the past only hinders and curtails us from accomplishing them. Bruh Paul’s goal was to become a clone of Jesus, as much as was humanly possible. ‘I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ (vs.14) Most of us would consider his education, his privileged position in the Jewish society, his zeal in persecuting the early church, and his law abiding nature as important; ‘But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ…and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.’ (vs.7-8) Wow Friends! Bruh Paul surely was a different kind of hombre! You have to admire his zeal and desire for excellence in whatever endeavour he chose. And after he got converted, brother, his sole aim was to seek righteousness, not through the law, ‘but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.’ (vs.9) And to his everlasting credit, he did make the attaining of faith through the righteousness of Christ, his life’s goal, never wavering from it, not in intensity, desire or physical effort, despite all the adversity he suffered. Now we can understand how he considers the things from his past life unimportant, but surely, with the many and varied places he preached the gospel, the churches he founded and mentored, you’d think that he would have attained a sufficient amount of righteousness to satisfy his inner man. But not so, he sought perfection. He wanted to be exactly like Christ; experiencing His power, sharing His suffering, dying and rising again. That’s why he says with some amount of disappointment, ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.’ He’s walking in newness of life and knows Christ more than most, but not to the extent he considers possible. He believes he can still die more to sin and self. ‘But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those which are before.’ Yes Friends, Bruh Paul was a perfectionist when it came to knowing Christ. Not many of us can be like him in our search and desire to know and be like the Master, but it is a worthy goal to which we can all aspire. It’s also very likely that most of us have not reached anywhere close to our optimum level of spiritual maturity. And this is where Bruh Paul’s principle of letting go of the things in our past, and concentrating on those in our future, comes into play. We can’t achieve spiritual maturity while holding on to our past immaturity. Remember what Jesus said to the fellow who wanted to go home and say goodbye to his family before following Him. ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven.’ (Luke 9:62) Yes people, you can’t look back while ploughing, or you won’t plough straight furrows, which are essential in cultivating large areas. From even the early days, (Gen.19) when Lot and his family escaped the destruction of Sodom, the angels of the Lord warned him not to look back. But as always, somebody doesn’t listen, his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. So Friends, looking back isn’t usually a very wise choice, especially if it’s with regrets, and what if’s, and burdens of guilt. The past is already gone, there’s nothing we can do about it. However, today is here, we can begin something new, only using the past as a lesson, so we don’t make the same mistakes, but always forging ahead, concentrating on tomorrow…and tomorrow… and tomorrow… And with each tomorrow, moving closer to perfection; that righteousness, that faith, that likeness in and of Christ that Bruh Paul so zealously sought, and which we also need to seek. Yes Friends, it’s all a matter of diligently putting our hands to the plough, and not looking back. Much LOVE!…we can do it…if we really try…
SCRIP-BITS 