Base Hits Win Games, part 3

This is the third of this 3 part series. Again, these posts are based on the teachings of Alistair Begg (www.truthforlife.org) that I thought I'd share with you fine folk.

We have talked about one thing I know (John 9:25) and one thing I ask (Psalm 27:4). Now we move on to one thing I do.

What do we do in service of God? We each have different talents and abilities. We are not all of us teachers or healers or ministers or preachers. We serve God in different ways. Still, there's one thing each of us can do to further our service of God.

For an answer, we turn to Paul and his letter to the Philippians. The third chapter, verse 13: "Brethren, 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"

What had Paul not apprehended? He had not attained all that he sought to be. He was not yet perfected. 3:11-12. But he pressed on. He continued on his way with all his might. Not having achieved the goal is not a reason to stop reaching. I know that I suffer from questions of doubt and fear about God's calling for me. Am I where I'm supposed to be? Am I doing all that I can for His service? Have I attained the goal? I don't know. But I press on.

How do we press on? How do we continue our quest to be holy as He is holy? How do we love God and love our neighbor? How do we actively seek His face? How do we carry on when we are beset by doubt and fear? When our past mistakes are brought to mind and we see how far short of the glory of God we have fallen, what keeps us motivated?

"But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind." (Emphasis added) You can't change the past. As much as we'd like to, we can't go back in time and correct mistakes we made. If only I'd done this or hadn't done that. If only I'd been more patient. If only I'd been more assertive. We can spiral down a slipperly slope and beat ourselves up. There's a difference between acknowledging your mistakes and repenting of them and dwelling on them to the point of despair. If you're going to dwell somewhere, dwell in the House of God. God knows we are human and prone to mistakes. God knows we fail. He asks that we put our trust in Him to help us through our dark times. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

Forget those things which are behind. In 1 Corinthians, Paul uses an example of maturing from childhood to adulthood. When a child, you thought and talked and acted like a child. When you grow up, you put away childish things. 1 Cor. 13:11 If you're a new creation, regenerated in Christ, you are no longer a slave to sin but alive in Christ. Forget those things which are behind. They will be a snare to you and hold you back from attaining the goal.

In addition to forgetting the negative past, don't be content to rest on your laurels either. Past successes should be celebrated. And they should spur you on to more and greater deeds. If you've written a paper that was well received or delivered an inspired talk or performed beautifully in a concert or recital or scored a game winning run or finally apprehended a concept in (pick a subject) that had been eluding you for months, you don't stop there. Success can and should breed more success. Just as the reward for sin is another sin, so too, is the reward for a mitzvah (commandment, or good deed) another mitzvah. I have participated in Habitat for Humanity for the past 7 years. The first time was a great experience. And I wanted to do it again. And I have. I've donated over a gallon of blood. I hate needles. I'm allergic to pain [ :) ]. I don't like the sight of blood. But I know that I'm doing a good thing. Sure, I could have stopped after my first pint and said, I've done my good deed of saving a life. Now I don't have to give any more blood. But that's not the case. I like to flatter myself into thinking I have some knowledge of Torah and Hebrew and I appreciate y'all's encouragement in that regard. But I discovered that the more I learn, the more I don't know. God is a great mystery that cannot ever be fully comprehended. Even were I to attain the level of knowledge of knowing every verse in the Holy Scriptures by heart, I would not have a complete understanding of God.

You too, have done many great and wonderful things in your service of God. Imagine the feeling you had after you helped someone in need. Imagine what it felt like to be in a worship service that really moved you. Or maybe you gained an insight into Scripture through your own study and shared it with others. Small acts of kindness can mean a great deal. Maybe you held the door open for someone. Or you comforted someone in mourning. Or you paid a visit to someone who is sick, or sent them a card or gave them a phone call. Maybe you cheered up someone who needed it. Maybe you made a donation to a food bank or goodwill or the salvation army. And you don't know who received your donation, but you know it was for a good cause. Maybe you said a prayer for someone. Don't discount the seemingly small stuff. We can't all hit homeruns all the time. But basehits win games. And while our own small deeds may be insignificant in terms of solving the world's problems, to the person you helped, you're incredibly significant. And that's a good thing. That's a great feeling.

But feelings are fleeting. In the movie Ultarviolet, William Fincher's character, Garth, asks Violet (Milla Jovovich) why she won't let anyone in (i.e. love her). And she says, because as beautiful as these moments are, when they pass, they are evil. Emotions come and go. Experiences come and go. You can't hold on to them forever. Life continues. There's homework and sports practice and walking the dog and feeding the cat and washing dishes and doing laundry and going to school and friends to talk with and hang out with and shopping and jobs and exams and going on vacation and a whole host of other things.

Let it go. Enjoy the moment and the feeling and then let it go. And if you want those moments again, work for them.

"One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead" (Emphasis added)

Reaching forward. Keeping our eyes on the prize, we strive forward. We press on. We continue in our struggle to be holy as He is holy. We are beset on all sides by temptations to sin. There are a couple ways of dealing with this. We can shut ourselves off from the world and live inside our tiny little box. Or we can put on the full armor of God and prepare to battle the forces of evil. There are some who do the former. I think they're missing out on the good things this world has to offer. I believe we can live in this world and while we acknowledge that temptation is all around us, we don't have to give in.

There are things ahead worth reaching for. For Paul, it was the 'prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus'. Philippians 3:14. It may be the same for you. I think we'd all like to hear "well done, good and faithful servant." I think we'd like to be able to say, like Paul, that we have fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. 2 Tim 4:7 And to do so, we must constantly strive forward. The verb form for "press on" in Phil 3:12 indicates that Pul is doing this continually. Our call to love another is an ever present command. Our call to love God by obeying His commands and honoring His holy days is an ever present command. Our call to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger is an ever present command. Our desire to gaze upon His beauty and seek His face is to be an ever present desire. The knowledge that once were blind but now we see, is to be an ever present reality.

But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.

Lord God, may it be Your will that we be secure in our knowlege of truth, that we gaze upon Your beauty and seek Your face and that we forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead. John 9:25. Psalm 27:4. Philippians 3:13.

The peace of God be with you always,

Amen.