Philippians 3:1-21
…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on… (vv. 13b-14a) I already commented on these verses in the second link below, but it is worth re-stating. Paul does not want us to sit idly by enjoying our position as believers in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, and our acceptance of His forgiveness for all that we have ever done. All that is “what lies behind”. It’s good, but Paul asks us to “press on”. I keep remembering that beyond salvation there is sanctification, our growing in the Lord. So how do we “press on”, how do we become more sanctified? I suggest three things, without further comment: our prayer life, our evangelism, and our service. In each of these areas, “press on”!
See also: July 31 / Philippians 3:1-11; August 1 / Philippians 3:12-21
Paul’s letters from prison are very inspiring. He is unjustly retained as a prisoner, but still finds a way to fulfill God’s purpose for his life instead of focusing his energy towards solving his own immediate problem. He testifies to the truth of his faith by his actions, for the benefit of the guards and fellow prisoners so that they may be inspired to believe also. He writes to encourage those believers outside his prison walls to remain faithful and grow in their love of Jesus Christ. And he puts his problems last.
It occurs to me that we all tend to live in prisons of our own. Some are imprisoned by disease, some by addictions, some by our past bad decisions, some by issues with family or friends, and at some point we are all imprisoned by sin of some sort. Paul’s example is a real life blueprint for how we can be faithful to God’s purpose for us even as we struggle in prisons of our own.