No Looking Back

Having reached the halfway mark of a new year is an excellent time to evaluate your life. How are you doing spiritually? How have you dealt with everyday activities? Have you stood firm in the goals you set?

Regrets can be crippling, even those from only today; dwelling on them can stunt a Christian’s growth. Paul learned the secret of forgetting the past even though it stayed in his memory:  “. . . But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13–14). Paul referred to God’s grace and mercy that saved him from who he once was—“forgetting” was a choice. Instead of dwelling on his past, he used it to testify how God changed his life. Paul chose to focus on who he became in Christ and the glorious life that awaited after finishing life’s race. As he strived for perfection to be like Jesus, he kept pressing on until the day he entered the realm of glory with his Lord.

Paul and his fellow workers encouraged others to live as they did because they lived like Jesus (v. 17). Many distractions will vie for our attention as we run life’s race, but runners who look back risk stumbling or falling. Like Paul, stay focused. Choose to let go of past hurts and failures. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the prize that awaits. Reaching the finish line, we are home with our Lord.