“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: 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
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Nikola Jokic is one of the best basketball players in the NBA. He is a great all-around player who is in the top five in scoring, rebounding and assists, and in the top 10 for steals. That means he excels on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
He helps his team by scoring many of the points, but also helps his teammates by passing to them so they can score. His rebounds are the result of him working hard to get into position on both ends of the court, and his steals keep the other team from scoring. Despite his best efforts, though, Jokic’s team doesn’t win every game.
Similarly, Paul in the Bible was one of the greatest all-around apostles. He traveled so many miles, preached lots of sermons, wrote about half of the New Testament, made tents to sell for income in his spare time, started churches in lots of places, trained church leaders before going to another community to start more churches, performed miracles as God empowered him, and spoke courageously about spiritual matters to all kinds of people. He did all these things in spite of being shipwrecked three times and put in prison several times to try to hinder and stop his work.
Even though Paul seemed like a machine with no feelings, he was human. In several of his letters, he expressed great disappointment in church members who argued too much or who were careless about what they said or how they lived in front of others. Furthermore, the Bible shows that not everybody respected Paul as a man of God. He received unfair and cruel treatment on some occasions as he delivered God’s Word to people in many places. For example, one group came from other cities to Lystra and tried to stone him to death. “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead” (Acts 14:19).
As Paul’s coworkers looked at him lying there, they thought he perished. But perhaps he had a concussion, as somehow he woke up and went with his fellow laborers to another city. In that moment, Paul could have quit the ministry since it was so dangerous and many people didn’t appreciate what he did. Instead, he turned the page as he did the previous year and would do again the next year. Though he was scarred and broken, Paul arose from the ground to share Christ again and again. “They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch” (Acts 14:21).
As we move from December to January and start another year, we’re challenged by the life and testimony of Paul, and other outstanding Christians, to not be paralyzed by the past. In spite of problems, we can move forward and live for Jesus in difficult times. Remember, Paul had regrets and struggles, but he didn’t quit until he saw Jesus in Heaven.
So his divinely-inspired words speak to us today. We’re commanded to keep on living for God no matter what happens. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: 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).
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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