Present-Minded and Eternity-Focussed

UV 1252-10,000 Present-Minded and Eternity-Focussed
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Philippians 3 v 13

Wherever we stand today in terms of our faith, our relationship with God and our station in life, we cannot think that we have arrived or achieved. We cannot rest on our oars of past attainments or endeavours. We cannot wallow or languish due to our past failures and failings. Winning is not all in the race of grace but finishing well is vital. All creatures including man have the eyes fitted in their sockets facing the front. Nobody has any eyes on the back of their heads. There is a lesson in this feature of our anatomy that God wants us to be always present-minded, future –ready and eternity-focussed. He will cover our backs where we cannot perceive. He has obliterated or blotted out the shortcomings of our past by applying the blood of the sacred Lamb, Jesus to our past. We need to now apply His word to our present and future. His Word becomes our veritable spiritual eyes to see what lies before us and far ahead of us. His Word transforms our perspectives and our perceptions. We are no longer hindered by the bad memories that haunt us from the past, the guilt of our past sins, the burden of a bad conscience. We can cast these burdens away and run free and uninhibited towards our goal. Our vision, our imagination and our energies are liberated to perform fully when we are freed from the burden of a bad conscience, the memories of our past limitations. The course might not be even or smooth but whatever hurdles or barriers we face, we know we are not running alone as thousands upon thousands who have gone before us and many multitudes are running alongside us-brothers and sisters by faith.

We are like the runner who no longer has his foot touched the ground, it is again in the air with increasing stride towards the goal. Now we can arch our bodies and both train and strain towards our present and future goals. In God’s race, it is not the speed with which we run but the direction in which we run that is important. Our feet take the wings of prayer and the Word. Our thoughts and dreams take wings. We are imbued with power from above and within. We are like arrows released by God flying towards its targets. Those whose souls are not yet saved are like the double-headed Greek god of legend- Janus who had one head facing towards the future and another in the opposite direction- the past. They would be pulled in opposite directions, now yielding to their spirits and now pandering to the passions of the body. Jesus restores integrity to the human soul. There is no more a tugging in opposite directions. There is neither a civil war between our various organs, a disconnect between our hearts and minds, a contradiction and conflict within our souls, a tug of war between our more sublime desires and our baser instincts. We have known the truth and the truth has set us free.

We are no longer “ orthodox” meaning stiff in form and spirit like our skeletons or bones (ortho) but “ paradox” , above forms or implying above the limitations imposed by our natural forms. We can now give our best for the highest and do our utmost in spirit, mind and body to attain the high calling the Lord has given us. We can now focus and persist on the things which are just before us as well as far ahead of us. We will not be side-tracked to take a detour by the red herrings the enemy of our souls places on our way. We do not need to look back to see if any other runner is close on our heels as our competition is not with others but with ourselves. We do not need to look back like Lot’s wife to see if all that we own in this world survives or is destroyed for we know a much brighter future and greater reward beyond comparison awaits us at the finishing line.

Prateep V Philip