Philippians 3:13-14 - "This One Thing I Do"

Ina world full of distractions, divided loyalties, and competing priorities, Paullived with a single focus. Thefirst thing that Paul mentions is, “forgetting those things which are behind”.This doesn't mean that Paul had a poor memory or that he was to forgeteverything that ever happened. In fact, he often spoke about his past. Heremembered his conversion on the Damascus Road. He remembered God's grace. Heremembered his former life as a persecutor of the church. The word"forgetting" means refusing to be controlled or hindered by the past.For Paul, that included past failures. Imagine the memories that Paul carried.He had stood by approving the death of Stephen. He had entered homes anddragged believers away to prison. If anyone could have been crippled by guiltand regret, it was Paul. He had to face many of the relatives of the peoplethat he had persecuted over the years. Yet, he knew that God's grace wasgreater than his past.  Myfriend, perhaps today you have been haunted by mistakes that you've made. Maybethere are sins that you committed years ago that still trouble you. If youhave, confess those sins and trust Christ. Remember the promise in 1 John 1:9: “Ifwe confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and tocleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What a promise!!! God does not wantus living in the prison of guilt. He wants us moving forward in His grace.  ButPaul also had to forget past successes. That's something we often overlook.Paul could have spent the rest of his life talking about the churches heplanted, the miracles he witnessed, the sermons he preached, and the souls whohad been saved. Yet, he refused to live on yesterday's victories. Someone said,"Yesterday's victories can become today's limitations if we stop pursuingGod's work in the present." So many believers spend too much time talkingabout what God did years ago rather than seeking what God wants us to do today.We should thank God for the past, learn from the past, but never live in thepast. ThenPaul says, "And reaching forth to those things which are before."The picture here is beautiful. Paul uses the imagery of a runner in a race.Imagine an Olympic runner approaching the finish line. Every muscle isstretched forward. His eyes are fixed on the gold. He's not looking behind him.He's not watching the crowd. He's not distracted by the other runners. Hisentire body is leaning forward toward the finish line. That's the image thatPaul gives us here. The Christian life is not a sprint. It's a marathon. Itrequires endurance, discipline, and perseverance. Notice that our focus mustalways be on Jesus. When we focus on our failures, we become discouraged. Whenwe focus on our successes, we become proud. When we focus on other Christians,we become distracted. But when we focus on Jesus, we keep moving forward. ThenPaul said, "I press toward the mark." The word"press" here means to pursue with intensity. It was the same wordthat Paul used earlier to talk about how he pursued the persecution of thechurch before he was saved. The same passion that drove him to oppose Christnow drove him to pursue Christ. Paul was not drifting through the Christianlife. He was pursuing Christ with all his heart. It is sad today that manybelievers are content with spiritual mediocrity. They're satisfied with justenough Christianity to ease their conscience. But Paul was not satisfied. Hewanted everything God had for him. He wanted to know Christ more deeply. Hewanted to serve Christ more faithfully. He wanted to become more like Jesusevery day.  Thenhe tells us why: "For the prize of the high calling of God in ChristJesus." Paul was not running for earthly applause, recognition, orrewards. His eyes were fixed on eternity. The phrase "the highcalling" or "the upward call of God" refers to God's heavenlypurpose for every believer. One day we'll stand before Christ.