Concentrate
I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.
Philippians 3:13
An athlete running a race must fix his eyes on something ahead of himself. He can’t watch his feet or he’ll fall on his face. He can’t be distracted by the other runners. He must focus on the goal straight ahead.
Paul’s remarkable concentration was the result of two things. First, he chose to forget “those things which are behind.” That includes both good and bad things. It means we should not dwell on past virtuous deeds and achievements any more than we should think about past sins and failures. Unfortunately, many Christians are so distracted by the past that they don’t make any current progress.
Instead of looking at the past, Paul focused on the future. “Reaching forward” pictures a runner stretching every muscle to reach the goal. To do that he has to eliminate the distractions and concentrate only on the goal ahead. Do you have that kind of concentration in your desire to become like Christ?
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 148). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Listen to this entry
Philippians 3:13
An athlete running a race must fix his eyes on something ahead of himself. He can’t watch his feet or he’ll fall on his face. He can’t be distracted by the other runners. He must focus on the goal straight ahead.
Paul’s remarkable concentration was the result of two things. First, he chose to forget “those things which are behind.” That includes both good and bad things. It means we should not dwell on past virtuous deeds and achievements any more than we should think about past sins and failures. Unfortunately, many Christians are so distracted by the past that they don’t make any current progress.
Instead of looking at the past, Paul focused on the future. “Reaching forward” pictures a runner stretching every muscle to reach the goal. To do that he has to eliminate the distractions and concentrate only on the goal ahead. Do you have that kind of concentration in your desire to become like Christ?
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 148). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Listen to this entry
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home