THE PEERLESS APOSTLE Paul said, “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, I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” –
Philippians 3:13,14.
We sometimes make mistakes when trying to do our best. Experience seems to
show that a different course would have been wiser. Sometimes we speak
rashly. Sometimes we fail to act.
Oft times we blunder for lack of knowledge. How many times have we said,
“I’ve been so foolish!” You may not have said it as many times as this writer
because he’s seen more years than most of you, and has made more blunders than
most. Someone said, “Discouragements are a test of character,” but in reality
acknowledgment of one’s own wrong, deciding to do right and working to change
that is what the Lord asks of us.
It is easier to be positive when everything seems satisfactory–when you have
health and friends and a job and property. But the one who can be cheerful in
misfortune, takes the prize. If when the way is dark, one can say, “It’ll be
better farther on, I’ll just trust in the Lord,” he has a great treasure– it
is called contentment. The apostle said, “But godliness with contentment is
great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). It wasn’t, “Being right and sure of it, is great
gain.” It wasn’t being able to say, “God, I thank you that I am not like
other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even as bad as this repugnant
brother over here, sure is great gain.” (See Luke 18:11). But “true faith
[being true to the Word], with peace of mind, is of great profit” (NTBE).
We should realize that what we are and what we have accomplished, we owe to
the Lord, or as Paul would say it, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1
Corinthians 15:10). We are blessed by the Lord to be a blessing to others.
The happiest people in the whole wide world are those who do for others.
We once knew a man who was sick in bed. He had abundance of property and
seemed to be thankful for his family. But the man was disposed to yield to
his bad feelings and dwell in his discouragements. When you would try to turn
his thoughts to brighter things he said “When I’m well I’m just as thankful as
anybody, but when I’m sick I have nothing to be thankful for.” Yet, even when
he was sick, he still had more blessings than he could number. Life would
have been more pleasant for that man and all those around him if he had only
turned his heart toward his blessings.
Letting your mind dwell on bad thoughts only makes you feel worse and really
hides your blessings and keeps them out of your sight. Your mistakes and
blunders, your senseless follies, the sins of your past should not be a
hindrance to a great future. They should, rather, be repented of and all
become stepping stones aiding you to climb higher and higher; they should be
signs of warning, that you might not fail again. God and you know your
weaknesses and He will help you fortify yourself against further failures.
We should give the mistakes of the past only enough thought to avoid their
repetition. If thinking about past failures brings discouragement, we should
turn resolutely away from them. If we cannot think of many blessings, we can
at least plan to help someone who is more unfortunate than are we. They are
not hard to find, on the streets, in hospitals, in jails, in the homes of the
poor and sick.
Our lives should be a help, not a discouragement, to others. Sometimes when a
person loses someone dear to them, they’ll keep others at arm’s distance and
won’t be comforted. Some think they have nothing to live for, their mind
dwells on what might have been, or maybe how lonely the future is going to be
without their loved one. It’s especially hard if the loved one was a
non-believer. But to dwell on the passing of this one can become a curse if
it destroys their usefulness to the Lord. Instead, our departed friends
should stimulate us to do more for those who remain, to help them the best we
can and especially work to convert them.
There were two young people who seemed most happily married. The husband
suddenly died. For the wife the light of her world had been snuffed out. She
was an excellent teacher but she thought she couldn’t continue to teach. The
one she “loved more than life itself” was gone. She didn’t want to do
anything. She didn’t want to live. She was offered a principalship–she said
she couldn’t take it. A close friend said, “Really, I think it’s your duty to
take this position. It’s wrong for you to let your grief hinder your
usefulness. If your husband could speak to you he would say, ‘You just can’t
refuse.’” After her friend’s talk she wrote two letters, one accepting the
position and the other letter refusing it. She stamped and sealed both
letters and ask a little boy to take one of the letters from her desk and go
mail it. Afterward she opened the letter which remained, and found that the
one accepting the position had been mailed. In this odd way her course was
decided; she was an unusually successful educator, remaining forty years in
all.
We shouldn’t forget the friends and loved ones who’ve gone on, but the
experience of losing them should make us more sympathetic to those who
remain. Our love for those who have gone should make us more aware of the
brevity of life, be even more determined to aid in leading our friends and
loved ones to Christ and becoming prepared for their own appointment. (See
James 4:14; Hebrews 9:27).
You may know those who like to recount their sad experiences, the slights
they’ve suffered, their injuries, their slanders, their hard times, unpleasant
things, but this is not helpful to them nor is it beneficial to others. If we
have a sore finger he wouldn’t be smart to tear off the bandage and scratch
open the sore again to show to every friend how bad it had been, nor is it
beneficial to rehearse the experiences that were harmful to us unless in some
way to encourage someone to avoid a pitfall.
We will be happier, healthier, more profitable Christians to ourselves and
everyone around us if we would do what the Scriptures command us. Jesus said,
“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:12 NTBE). Also the
Bible says, “Whatever things are true, whatever things have honor, whatever
things are upright, whatever things are holy, whatever things are beautiful,
whatever things are of value, if there is any virtue and if there is any
praise, [if we would] give thought to these things” (Philippians 4:8 NTBE).
“Forgetting the things that are behind let us press forward..” The past need
not discourage us if we keep our eyes on “the Author and finisher of our
faith, and Heaven our goal. Experiences in life should help us to climb
toward our highest ideals.
