Pressing On: Forgetting the Past, Focusing on Christ

``He begins by saying something rather bold when he says, whatever I once considered valuable, now I consider it a loss compared to knowing Christ. Paul is not saying that his past didn't matter because let's face it, Paul had a past. Remember saw. He's saying that his past no longer defines him. He had plenty of things he was proud of. He was proud of his education. He was proud of his status. He was proud of his religious achievement. He was proud of his reputation. All of those things once gave him identity and confidence. [00:19:33] (40 seconds)  #MoreThanMyPast

Paul invites us to a different posture. He says, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize. Now when Paul says forgetting, he doesn't mean he's erasing that memory. It means he's refusing to be controlled by that memory. The past is there, but it no longer gets to run the show. Talk about lifting weight off of our shoulders. [00:21:33] (36 seconds)  #ReleaseThePast

Then Paul uses that athletic, that sports language again when he says, I am pressing onward. I am straining forward. This is focused, intentional movement in the direction of God. Paul is saying, I know what I am moving toward. Paul names that goal clearly, the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. The goal is not personal achievement. The goal is not personal perfection. The goal is not success as our world would like to define it. Our goal as Christians is in Christ and Christ alone. [00:22:47] (47 seconds)  #RunningTowardChrist

You see, Paul does not give us a checklist of everything that we must do, rather Paul gives us a direction. And maybe, just maybe, that's enough for today. Maybe that's enough for this week. We don't have to fix everything. We don't have to figure out our entire future right now. We just need to notice where our focus is and gently and faithfully turn it back towards Christ, our lord and our savior. [00:27:57] (45 seconds)  #DirectionNotChecklists

Because focus has a way of shaping everything. We already know that. All we have to do is buy a brand new car, and we didn't think that we saw it on the road, or maybe we bought a brand new Jeep. We didn't think that we saw our type of Jeep out on the road, but all of a sudden, we buy a new one. And now everywhere we go, we see our model of car, our color of car because that is what we are paying attention to. [00:17:59] (27 seconds)  #WhatYouNoticeGrows

We can also know that if we focus on what's wrong in the world, then everything feels heavy. If we focus on what's urgent, then we probably stay anxious. If we focus on comparison, then we never really feel like we are enough. Focus quietly forms us often before we even realize it is happening. [00:18:27] (31 seconds)  #FocusFormsYou

But when our focus is Christ, not as an idea, but Christ as a living, breathing presence in our life, we find freedom to keep on moving even when our path is not clear. [00:26:22] (17 seconds)  #ChristAsCompass

Paul even says earlier, not that I have already obtained this or not like I have already reached the goal. In other words, Paul is saying, hey, guys. I'm still learning. I am still growing. I'm still on my way. Well, that's good news for me because I'm also still learning. I'm still evolving. I'm still growing. Faith is not about arrival. Faith is about the direction in which we live our lives. [00:23:48] (31 seconds)  #FaithIsDirection