Verses 13-14
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.
My Thoughts: It is perplexing to me how my past controls my present and my future. I will be watching a movie and all of a sudden I am overcome with emotion not understanding why this scene dials it up. Or, I will turn on someone who says something to me which dials up anger venting way more than they deserve. I will imagine doing something extraordinary but hear in my head, “You can’t do that!” We all have scripts good and bad. However, it seems the bad scripts are the ones that bind us to the past and prevents us living life to its fullest, much less dream about the future. The Apostle Paul had those bad scripts. Ones which were about rules and religion which led to hatred towards the church of Christ (Philippians 3:5-6). However, he had discovered a secret to letting go of the past and seeing it in the reality of the future he knew God had for him. The result: Liberation from his past and the strength to press on to attain a glorious future. What was that secret? Knowing Christ Jesus as Lord (Philippians 3:8). Paul had discovered the power of experiencing the resurrected Jesus. Not just a cognitive understanding but an experiential reality in which the past is forgotten and forgiven. And, all things are possible in the present and in the future (Matthew 19:26).
Application: Every area of my life. These verses impact my heart, soul, mind, and body.
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