“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 3:13-14
In Chapter 6 of All In, Mark Batterson asserts that at some point in our lives, most of us stop utilizing our imagination and rely on memory instead. When that day comes, the author asserts, we stop living and start dying. To be fully alive we must be fully present. We must press on.
Pastor Batterson uses the basketball analogy of a full-court press to emphasize that the only way we can predict the future is by creating it. Rather than letting the future happen to us by sitting back in a prevent defense, we make the future happen through discernment of God’s purpose and plan for our lives. Instead of regretting our past, we choose to learn from it, as Mark explains:
“You cannot divorce yourself from the past. You are married to it forever. But God wants to reconcile your past by redeeming it. God is in the recycling business. He makes recycled goods out of wasted lives. The spiritual tipping point is when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change.”
To be all in with following Christ means following beyond the point of inconvenience. New possibilities and new realities await us.
Today’s question: What has enabled you to press on following your ministry downsizing or vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The anointing”
Coming Tuesday: the new Short Meditation, “The Finch Whisperer”
