Paul often refers to life in athletic terms such as a race or a fight. There is a goal and a prize. He is pressing on towards it. At this point in his life, he realizes there is more that Christ Jesus has for him. He has not finished the race. He is still in it. He needs to press on.
Armed with this knowledge, he forgets what lies in the past. The past can pull him back, can impede his pace or hold him fast in its grip. It distracts from the goal and the prize. Paul has learned to look ahead to fulfill what God has for him. He presses on.
It is part of Christian maturity. Each hurdle we overcome gives us the experience of success. A new confidence in God’s ability to see us through takes hold in our belief system. We can look to the future that He has promised and keep going. Our rest comes in knowing that He is the Great I Am and our past is safe with Him. Live up to the lessons learned in the past. Use them as building blocks for the future. Don’t get tripped up by life’s distractions. If we stumble or fall, we work to strengthen those areas by getting up and going at it again.
Remember that our citizenship is in heaven and we are eagerly awaiting our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.
“He will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”
Let us keep our eyes on His truths and run the race.
