Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But 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.
I enjoy playing the
guitar, and every now and then, I watch tutorial videos from other guitar
players. Some of these videos have left me very disillusioned. There is just so
much information it is hard to take it all in at one time. I am most certainly
not a great guitar player, but the 60 years I have been playing the guitar have
taught me one crucial lesson. When you try to think about what notes to hit
next, it will distract you from the smooth flow of the music. It would be best
if you did not focus your attention on playing the notes, you must focus on
what matters most, and that is the song itself and what message it is trying to
put forward.
The same principle applies in life as well; we must focus on what is essential. In our text today, the Apostle Paul teaches us how this applies to us as born again, washed in the blood Christians. He is telling us not to get ourselves focused on worldly matters that are of less importance. We should follow his example of forgetting what is behind us and focus our entire being on what is ahead of us. Paul also decided to live by a crucial tenet: maintaining his attentiveness on the path in front of him. A competitive runner cannot focus on the track behind him or her and still concentrate on the finish line. A runner's object is to focus on the very next step in the competition, headed for the finish line. Paul lived his spiritual life in the same manner. He did not look back to past mistakes but focused on advancing every step in the race until he reached the goal of being with Christ Jesus. Followers and believers in Christ can learn from the past, but we are not bound to the mistakes we have made in our history. Instead of being shackled by our past mistakes, the Christian can move forward, knowing that we have the promise of Christ's forgiveness.
In this world where there are so many distractions placed in front of us by Satan, it is of the foremost significance for the children of God to stay focused on what is essential, "keep your eyes upon Jesus, and the things of the world will grow strangely dim." God has a mission for us all, and that must be our first priority. Paul was a sailmaker, and he did work at his trade, but his first priority was his mission for Christ. The question is, where is our priority? Is it on the worldly distractions, or is it on the things of Christ Jesus? Our goal is to live our lives here in this world and the hereafter, serving our Lord and Savior. This goal can only be accomplished by keeping our focus totally and wholeheartedly on Christ Jesus.
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