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"..... one thing I do. Forgetting
what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus." -
Philippians 3:13, 14.
Among the many imponderables of life there is
one certainty - time passes. How to use it wisely and well
is the concern of most of us. A looking back at how we spent
our time often produces regrets that we did not make better
use of it. This dissatisfaction is a proper reaction to what
we recall, for to be satisfied with how we live could show
insensitivity to the feelings of others; failure to recognise
one's own weaknesses; reluctance to acknowledge our indebtedness
to God and to other people.
The question we have to ask and answer is - while we move
on in time are we moving on in grace and in usefulness as
those who are devoted to Christ and committed to His service
and the service of others?
The Christian must not be static, standing still, for if
his life is not a progression in the knowledge and experience
of God it will be a falling away from Him, a following of
Christ afar off.
Some of us appear to have reached a comfortable condition
in our Christian lives where we have a sense of security in
our faith in Christ; a commitment to the church in its work
and witness; and a recognition of certain community duties
and responsibilities. We have found in our faith a sufficiency
for spiritual safety, a comfortable spiritual sit-down.
There is lack of vision, of the sense of deep commitment
and real involvement in the practice and outreach of the faith.
We should be striving after better things, determining to
go on in our spiritual development, growing in grace and in
usefulness. The right attitude is to look forward, to go forward
for the prize which Paul described as "the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus."
The Christian is on a journey. Every victory over self and
sin is a spur from which to make progress. Paul was always
the constant seeker after larger spiritual experiences. He
spoke of forgetting the past, of not living in the past, but
learning from it. He would have agreed that "the present
is only intelligible in the light of the past." Unfortunately
many of us clutter up our minds with what we would be better
to forget. A good "forgetery" can be more beneficial
than a good memory, for forgetting may be a memory release
and not a memory lapse. We must not make a burden of memories
which harass and impede us. There is nothing more crippling
than recollections of reasons for regret and annoyance.
But while spiritual progress may be affected adversely by
upsetting remembrances, it can also be held back by a continuous
reflecting on past virtues, pleasures and successes. To go
on must mean leaving the sadness and gladness behind and to
be ready for what the future holds for us. The main task must
be to seek to attain that standard of character and conduct
which we have illustrated for us in the life of Jesus. It
will be beyond our reach but to be kept in our sights.
To grow in grace is to be done in time honoured ways:
- by prayer - the communing of the soul with God;
- by the Bible - God's ordinary means of conversation with
us;
- by the Church - its worship, ministry, teaching, preaching
and fellowship.
Spiritual growth will show in the work and worth of the Christian
as he lives his life and serves people in the ways of Christ.
A main characteristic of Christianity is its down to earthness,
for Christianity is in itself practical. It has no trait more
striking than its common sense. And we have the promise that
God will give us the strength we need to face whatever life
has in store for us, and to accept its challenges in the knowledge
that He is with us in them. He said, "I am with you always."
We should remember that the whole of Christianity is comrpised
in three things, to believe, to love and to obey Jesus. Things
we must be learning and working at all times.
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