"Brethren,
I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those
things which are ahead.
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
Everyone understands the concepts of past, present, and future, at least in theory. These things are not so difficult to understand, but if somehow someone would get confused about these things, they would have a bigger problem than just a mistake of grammar. The past is what has already happened, the present is what is happening now, and the future deals with what will happen later. While it may be nice to remember the past, or dream about the future, we live in the present; we do not live in the past or in the future.
Paul gave us some great, godly wisdom in Philippians 3 when he wrote about forgetting the past and reaching forward towards the goal of the call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul could have thought about his past and the mistakes he made, or even about how he had achieved the position of a Pharisee. But Paul knew that to move forward in the call of God for his life, he had to leave the past behind. This is true for all of us as well, because God has a plan, a call, for each of us, and to fulfill that call we must leave the past behind.
And while Paul talked about forgetting the past and reaching forward to what God had for his future, Paul knew that just focusing on the future and not living in the present would not work either. If all we would do is think about the great possibilities of the future, we would not get much done in the present. Yes, remember the good things and victories of the past and dream about the bright future you have with God, but be sure to do what God is calling you to do and be a doer of the Word, today, because we live in the present, not the past or the future.
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
Everyone understands the concepts of past, present, and future, at least in theory. These things are not so difficult to understand, but if somehow someone would get confused about these things, they would have a bigger problem than just a mistake of grammar. The past is what has already happened, the present is what is happening now, and the future deals with what will happen later. While it may be nice to remember the past, or dream about the future, we live in the present; we do not live in the past or in the future.
Paul gave us some great, godly wisdom in Philippians 3 when he wrote about forgetting the past and reaching forward towards the goal of the call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul could have thought about his past and the mistakes he made, or even about how he had achieved the position of a Pharisee. But Paul knew that to move forward in the call of God for his life, he had to leave the past behind. This is true for all of us as well, because God has a plan, a call, for each of us, and to fulfill that call we must leave the past behind.
And while Paul talked about forgetting the past and reaching forward to what God had for his future, Paul knew that just focusing on the future and not living in the present would not work either. If all we would do is think about the great possibilities of the future, we would not get much done in the present. Yes, remember the good things and victories of the past and dream about the bright future you have with God, but be sure to do what God is calling you to do and be a doer of the Word, today, because we live in the present, not the past or the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment