The Plumbline

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go. (Herman Hesse) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12-14) Too many times we hold onto our mistakes, focusing all our thought and attention on them instead of what Christ wants to do with them. He actually wants to use them as a catapult to move us forward, not anchor us to the past. God is always doing something new - reminding us to forget what lies in the past and focus on the new (Isaiah 43:18-19). God is making a way forward, but we have to step out into it if we are to ever

Edmund Burke said, "You can never plan the future by the past." The more we count on the past to define us or our life's path, the harder it will be for us to move forward. Why? The past cannot be relived, and the present is ever-changing. Burke also reminds us, "He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper." Our antagonist is our helper. Could that mean that the 'negative stuff' in our past is actually helping us to grow closer to Christ in our present? I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12-14) Press on to possess. That really sums it all up. We need to 'press on' if