No man left behind

I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven. (Philippians 3:12-14)

All of us can truthfully say that we ae not exactly what God wants us to be - we haven't fully reached that point where we have done all we should do, developed all the character traits God wants us to develop, or completely been the person he wants us to be to reach others for him. The best we can admit to being is one that is 'continuing on' - doing what we are asked to do, learning from the instruction we receive, and allowing God to use us as he sees fit in each encounter he brings our way. Life isn't perfect - neither are we!

All God expects is that we are obedient to the knowledge he brings into our lives and that we pay attention to those around us that he purposefully places in our lives. He has placed them there so he can impact their lives through ours. It may seem a bit odd that the God of the Universe would actually choose to use us human beings to do his work on this earth, but he does. We must be faithfully obedient to do as he instructs, even when it seems a bit odd or hard. God's plans don't always make sense at the beginning, but in the course of time, we see how he is working in and through us.

We all still have a long way to go - so exercise a little patience when others don't seem to be growing as we think they should, or you find yourself just a bit 'off-kilter' from time to time. The more we press forward, the further we get from our past. We don't have to pack it up and bring it along! That 'long way' we each still have to go isn't going to welcome all that baggage! A runner cannot carry a heavy pack upon his back and God calls for us to be runners, not burden-bearers! The past is behind, the present awaits, and the future is prepared. We might just be the one called to help others 'unburden' from the weight of their past sins, but it is easier to do that when we have done so ourselves. 

Maybe we are each removing one small part of that burden that belongs in our past from each other's 'pack'. It is as we let go that another may be willing to part with a piece of their burden, as well. We need to spur one another on toward the goal, with the same philosophy of the military - no man is left behind. Just sayin!

Press on to possess

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 we are ever to 'possess'. Notice - it never says we are to continue to do things the way we have always done them. As I have said before, to do what we have always done will ensure we will always get what we have always gotten. If we are to be vital Christians, we have to be willing to let go of what 'we have always done' and embrace what God may be asking us to do now. Possession requires action. Even a gift is received. 

When a course has been established, we move on within that course. Does the movement forward change what we now have in our rearview mirror? Of course it does, because the stuff behind us is now in our past and we have a new vantage point from which to see that 'stage of the course'. What God may desire from us today is to stop gazing so fondly into that mirror. When I drive, I don't constantly focus on what is in my rearview mirror, but what is right ahead of me. Why? The path before me is what presents the obstacles I must be ever aware of, not the places I have just been. 

Possession is realized when we are able to keep our focus on what is front of us, not what is behind. Press on to possess - make forward movement, let go of the past, dwell upon the present, and learn to trust God to bring you into all he has for you in the present. The present prepares us best for the future. Just sayin!