Reaching Forward, Leaving Past Behind
Daily Scripture
Philippians 3:12-14
12 It’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already been perfected, but I pursue it, so that I may grab hold of it because Christ grabbed hold of me for just this purpose. 13 Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. 14 The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The apostle Paul said his overarching goal was to keep growing into all God called him to be. Author Frederick Buechner said, “Our mass culture… [says] the only thing that really matters about your work is how much it will get you in salary and status…. The world is full of people who seem to have listened to the wrong voice and are now engaged in lifework in which they find no pleasure or purpose…. We should go with our lives where we most need to go and where we are most needed.” *
- It’s possible for you as an individual (or for a whole congregation like Resurrection) to start thinking, “I’ve/we’ve arrived—this is enough, as good as it gets.” How can you as an individual, and we, as a congregation, always remember that we have not yet reached our goal, that God always has more ahead for us? How can you support and live out this forward-looking spirit, not in misery and drivenness but with joy and anticipation?
- Scholar William Barclay said Paul’s word for reaching out “is used of a racer going hard for the tape. It describes him with eyes for nothing but the goal. It describes the [person] who is going flat out for the finish.” ** How can you live your life in such a way that you, too, are going flat out for the goal of living the life God calls you to? What choices can you make in the weeks and months ahead that will empower you to run God’s race with eyes for nothing but the prize?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you never got stuck in nostalgia—you were always looking to the future. Take the wheel of my life and direct me into the future that you call me to. Amen.
GPS Insights
Amy Oden
Dr. Amy Oden serves as Adjunct Professor of Early Church History and Spirituality at the Oklahoma campus of Saint Paul School of Theology. Teaching is her calling, and she looks forward to every day with students. Her book (Right Here, Right Now: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness, Abingdon Press, 2017) traces ancient mindfulness practice for Christians today.
Paul makes sure the Philippians know we are always on the way, always moving, always stepping into the future, a powerful invitation! The spiritual life is not a matter of thinking we’ve arrived. We are always growing, moving, leaning into the next life-giving step, listening for God’s call into the future. The earliest movement around Jesus was called “the Way” not “the Arrival.” For me, one powerful question made this real.
I remember a time in my life when I felt very lost, when I was confused about which way to go, unclear about the path ahead yet aware I could no longer stay where I was. It was a painful and anxious time for me.
I remember so clearly the day my spiritual director asked me this key question: “Amy, what is life-giving for you?” This stopped me in my tracks. What is life-giving? What brings me life? I didn’t know right away but I did know that I wanted to sit with this question. I got excited just thinking about it. I knew that letting this question lead me forward was the way through the fog toward God’s voice, that this question would open my ears to “the prize of God’s upward call” (v. 14). That upward call will always – always! – be life-giving. “I have come to bring them life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
So, I began to watch for what brings life. I began to notice what activities, people, places, practices, attitudes, expectations, anything at all that was life-giving, that is, that brought aliveness, energy, awakening. I began to focus on things that cultivated hope, love, peace, the capacity to care for others. This focus shifted my vision away from “figuring it all out,” or “getting it right.” I could let go of the things that had held me back (v. 13). Instead, this question helped me focus on how God was offering me life! This changed everything.
This one, focused question – what is life-giving? — orients me daily as I continue to grow and learn along this journey. Of course, this focus on what is life-giving does not mean the path will be easy or feel good all the time. I have walked through hardship and struggle and I’m sure there is more ahead, because I am human. But it does mean that I stay oriented toward “God’s upward call” as I take each step. I haven’t arrived, but I can hear God’s voice showing me the path of life as I live in this question and I’ve come to trust it.
Today ask yourself: what is life-giving for me? See what you notice, see what God shows you.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark. San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1969, pp. 29-31.
** William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 67.
