KANGAROOOS
& EMUS
Third
of seven in Let’s Get Busy Series
Philippians
3:12-17
Philippians
3:13-14: “Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken ahold of it [knowing Christ, power of His
resurrection, sharing in His sufferings, becoming like him in death, attaining
resurrection from the dead]. 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.”
“I messed up!” eight year old Benjy
exclaimed to his twin, Danny. “I got
every answer wrong!”
“The test was hard,” Danny admitted. “But you knew the answers. We quizzed each other.”
“I skipped #1. I answered the questions beginning at the
wrong number!”
“You messed up, Benjy!” Danny agreed.
All Benjy could think of that weekend was
the test he blew. The spectacular autumn
sights and smells, even brilliant leaf colors couldn’t bring a smile. He allowed past mistakes to rob him of
happiness today.
How can we keep moving forward when the
past drags us backwards?
Consider the kangaroo. The kangaroo’s shape and the strength of the
long tail boosts forward movement.
Also, the emu runs fast on strong legs. But its knee joints make backward movement very
hard.
Both animals are native to Australia—and are pictured on its
coat of arms.
Australia has the right
idea: Continue to move forward. Make progress.
Apostle Paul would have agreed with Australia’s
motto—it’s slogan—or coat of arms. He
encouraged believers to move forward in faith.
Don’t regret your past. Don’t just
be satisfied with salvation. Grow in
Christ!
Paul made mistakes. (See the lesson, linked below). But Jesus called him out on the road to
Damascus (Acts 9:3-6). He believed Jesus. His sins were forgiven. He refused to dwell on past mistakes. I’m sure the devil tried convincing Paul that
God could never forgive persecuting Christians.
But Paul didn’t believe the devil. He learned from mistakes, then moved forward. He strained forward with the clear purpose of
receiving the prize for which God called him heavenward in Jesus.
Yesterday is done. Let’s agree to confess and learn from our
mistakes. Let yesterday go. Believers’ faith journey through life serves
God as we press forward to the prize of heaven with Jesus.
Take
Home Nugget
Monday at school, Benjy’s teacher pulled him aside. “What happened?” she asked. She showed him his test paper. Red ink marked every answer as wrong.
“I skipped #1,” Benjy admitted.
His teacher looked closely at his answers. “I see.
Every answer beginning at #2 is correct.”
She graded it an A-. “Please be
more careful next time.” she said.
Let’s pray we’re upward bound,
Planting our feet on higher ground.
Referenced by Kangaroos
And Emus. Crowder. RBC Ministries. Michigan. June 1, 2014.
J.D.
Griffith
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