Stretching Faith Forward
Philippians 3:12-17
Not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that
I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 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, I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let
us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be
otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless,
whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the
same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them
which walk so as ye have us for an example.
We must keep
moving forward in our faith in God and our walk with Jesus Christ. So many
times we get slapped in the face by our past. We must learn to leave the past
where it belongs, behind us! Vince Gill once sang a song titled “There Ain’t No
Future in the Past”. We have all failed in life at some point. Amen? We have
all done things that we wish we could take back or do over. This is exactly
where the enemy wants us to be and wants us to stay. If the devil can keep us
tied up and focused on where we fall short, then he knows he can prevent us
from experiencing spiritual growth. In this part of his letter to the
Philippians, Paul is expressing how he himself has not yet reached the goal, or
has not yet been made perfect, but he persists in doing so by stretching
himself forward in faith, and forgetting what lies behind.
Paul goes on to
say that we need to live up to the position in Christ in which we have already
obtained. If you are a born again Christian, then God has already accepted you
and has forgotten your prior sin. He has a plan for your new life in Christ but
as long as you keep looking backward, you can’t look forward to see that plan
unfold. By allowing yourself to do this, you are not able to live up to the
position in which you already have. Perfection through glorification is our
goal. We will not reach that goal if we hang on to our past lives.
Cast off your
oppressive past and keep moving forward in faith, heaven bound all the way!