THIS ONE THING I DO

"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." (Philippians 3:13, 14).

 

One of the things that cripples people most in their present lives is not properly dealing with their past.  Our personal history can drastically alter the way we think, feel, and act in given situations.  It shapes our attitudes about ourselves and about others.  It can breed guilt, depression, anxiety, anger, impatience, and sorrow on the one hand, and pride, arrogance, and a false sense of one's own worth on the other.  It can trigger a whole host of emotional responses in us that would seem strange or unwarranted to the casual observer.  Often, even we can't explain our behavior.

 

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippian church tells us that there is one thing that he has learned to do in order to stay balanced in the Lord: he reaches toward the things that are before him while forgetting the things that are behind him.  Paul realized that - good or bad - once a thing has passed, it no longer has any power over, or real bearing on, the present.  Because I failed yesterday is no reason for me to not overcome today.  The failure may cause me to feel defeated today, but it really has nothing to do with my present performance.  The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from my sin; and, therefore, if I have brought that failure to the throne of grace in heartfelt repentance, and believe in the power of His blood to purify my conscience, then yesterday's sin has become a non-issue to me.  Instead of focusing on what I have done, or what has been done to me, I can now focus on those things that God has planned for me, and has promised to me.

 

It is not just my failures that can cripple me in the present; it is also my victories.  If I do not keep my successes in their proper place, they can give me a false sense of accomplishment which may hinder my future growth in the Lord.  I have known brothers who had wonderful testimonies of how God had moved in their lives 5, 10, or 20 years ago, but had no fresh experiences of God's faithfulness today.  They had become stagnant and yet trusted that they were still ok because God had used them mightily at one time.  Paul said, "I count not myself to have apprehended."  In other words, he never allowed himself to think that he had arrived, or that he had it all together and needed nothing more.  His eyes were fixed on one goal, on one mark, on one finish line.  He knew that there was a prize waiting for him there.  It was the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  Certainly it is good at times to share those things which God has wrought in our lives with others for their encouragement, but we mustn’t rely on those things as proof of our spirituality today.  Past victory doesn’t insure future success.  Victory in Jesus is a continual drawing from the Vine.  It is receiving the life of Jesus moment by moment, not trusting in our own righteousness which is like filthy rags.  Our salvation is based on our abiding in Christ, not copying His behavior.

 

Extricating ourselves from our past is a process.  It is a matter of learning to recognize my behavior in the light of the pattern set by the Lord Jesus Christ.  My wife used to do a lot of sewing.  She would make clothes for our children when they were younger, and for herself.  She would purchase paper patterns for the garments that she wanted to make, and follow those patterns closely.  She knew that if she deviated from the pattern, the garment would not turn out right at all.  We have been given a pattern for our lives, and that pattern is Christ.  I may think that I have very good reasons to alter that pattern for my own life; but, in the end, things just will not turn out right.  I will be hurt, and I will hurt others.  As I look into the mirror of God's Word, however, a wondrous thing occurs.  I not only see the Lord more clearly - Who He is, and what He is like - but I also see myself clearly in the light of His glory.  As I accept what I see in the Word and apply it by faith, then I am transformed a little more into the likeness of Jesus.  It is not a matter of conforming, but one of transforming.  "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18).

 

In Christ I am learning that it is no longer my history that is important, but "His story."  My experience is now wrapped up in His.  It is because He died to sin that I am now dead to sin.  It is because He overcame the grave that I now can enjoy new life.  It is because He defeated the world and Satan that I am now victorious.  As Christians we can rest secure in the knowledge that as He is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17).  "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20).  This, then, is our life: forgetting the past, and pressing for the high calling of God in Christ. 

 

“Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.  I am the Vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:4, 5).