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 3:13-14
In Philippians 3, Paul reminds the church at Philippi that he hasn't yet
arrived in life. He will still make mistakes. But he doesn't let his
past dictate his future either. He strives forward with the goal of
Christ at the forefront. And the Apostle Paul's resume has mine beat. He
tortured, imprisoned, and murdered Christians before his conversion.
Just imagine how much shame and guilt he could have had around that
portion of his life. Instead, he doesn't let his past wounds and sins
dictate who he is in the present.
When we choose freedom from our past, it's because we see
ourselves as Christ sees us—holy and blameless due to his life, death,
and resurrection that covers our past. We're not fatherless. We're not
alcoholics or addicts. We're not even victims. All those words people
and society have lobbed at us no longer hold any power over us because
Jesus gives us a new heart and a new mind that breathes his unending
love into our being. But that's the hard part also, because it's a
choice. We can hand over our identity to Christ and let him impart a new
one, or we can continue to believe the lies the accuser whispers to us.
But like Paul reminds us, we will stumble along the way. The life of
faith and our identity in Christ is a marathon, not a sprint. The goal
of a marathon for most people is just to complete the race. As long as
you keep running, you'll reach the finish line. Don't forget to keep
your eyes fixed on the finish line and the way Christ continues to cheer
for you. The past is behind you, but the future looks bright.
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