Resources/Articles
Keeping Our Faith Alive (27)
Paul, the apostle, wrote, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13, NAS).
Our faith will never be kept alive if we are always turning our head to see what’s behind us. No amount of energy can change where we have been. Bringing it with us and holding on to it today robs us of the energy we need to work today. Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4).
The past can certainly be a valuable resource. It should encourage us and humble us. We should also let the past instruct us. Therefore, whatever we were, what we are now matters more. We need to think about our past as Paul thought about his. What he had been was regrettable, “but by the grace of God,” he said, “I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Who you are today determines whether your faith is alive or dying.
We need to walk forward. Spiritual growth is always forward, never backward. Those who move forward are those who reach forward “to those things which are ahead” (Philippians 3:13). Paul urged Timothy, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all” (1 Timothy 4:15). The gospel, the “glad tidings” of our salvation, must not simply be heard and appreciated. We must respond to it. Not only at first, not just in the past, but in the future as well. The gospel must be obeyed (Romans 1:5; Galatians 3:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17).
Consider these words from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
