Reading: Philippians 3: 13-14
Paul knew that forgetting was important. He knew that if he were to continue to grow in his relationship with Christ, he must treat his failures like Christ treats our sin. First, he must acknowledge that as we are human, we will sin and struggle with our sin. Second, like Christ we must forget our stumbles and press on in our faith. Mistakes so often teach us and we must be cognizant of what we can learn from our mistakes, but we cannot fall and remain down. We must pick ourselves up, remember our guilt no more, and continue “on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Jesus Christ.”
Perfection is something only Christ attained. So we can expect to have stumbles, setbacks, and even the occasional fall. The way in which we choose to handle these inevitable occurrences is essential to a successful journey of faith. One option is to collapse, to become paralyzed, to remain stuck. We may have brief times here because of the enormity or sheer emotional weight of the trial. But we cannot choose to remain here. Even though sometimes this feels like the easy choice, it is not the best choice because in essence we are saying God cannot rescue us.
In the end we must make the choice to reach out, to take hold of His hand, and to begin to walk again. We must lean into God and allow Him to carry us for a bit. We must walk with Him and share all of what we are going through and ask for what we need. Above all else God loves us and seeks good for our lives. Our bottom line is that we know the goal is assured because of Christ’s work on the cross. No matter what life brings, may we always live with our mind on the goal to which we too are called heavenward.
pastorjohnb 