11月10日
标 题： 继续前进
经 节： 弟兄们，我不是以为自己已经得着了；我只有一件事，就是忘记背后，努力面前的。（腓立比书三章13节）
世人告诉你，对于你当前生活的最大影响是你的过去。如果你成长于有问题的家庭，这会决定你将来的生命方向。如果你曾遭受种族文化的歧视，这会主宰你今日的生活状况。如果你受过伤害或被虐待，或者你在青少年时期很叛逆，你的余生将与你的过去翻滚挣扎。这个世界被过去给占满，因为它面对的是未知的将来。
基督徒则恰恰相反。基督徒自由地活着，因为基督已经战胜我们的过去。“旧事”已经都过去，一切都成了“新事”（哥林多后书五：17）。神完全饶恕了基督徒的罪，祂不再记念那些罪（以赛亚书四十三：25）。基督徒不是忘记过去，而是不被过去所控制或刺激。基督徒对将来有盼望。
世人专注于所要克服的挑战或困难，而基督徒专注于成为什么样的人。基督徒知道，圣灵在自己身上动工，使我们有基督的形像。基督徒知道，自己终究会站在基督面前，交代一生的所作所为，并与基督同在，直到永远。基督徒知道，所有不义之事终有一日会被陈明，每个伤痛都可得安慰。基督徒知道，撒但和死亡在末了会退出。基督徒的生命是丰盛，且充满激情的。不但如此，过去发生的一切不再影响他们。
如果你沉浸于过去，求神打开你的眼睛，看到等在你面前的是奇妙的将来，就像保罗一样，忘记背后、努力面前。
Press On
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.
(Philippians 3:13)
The world will tell you that the dominating influence in your life is
your past. If you came from a difficult home life, that will determine the
direction of your life. If your culture was treated unfairly, that will dictate
the condition of your life today. If you were hurt or abused or if your youth
was spent in rebellion, the remainder of your life will be spent struggling
with your past. The world is preoccupied with the past because it faces an
uncertain future.
Christians, on the other hand, live in freedom because Christ has
overcome our past. The “old things” have been done away with and “new things”
have come_(2 Cor. 5:17). God has so totally forgiven the Christian’s sin that
He chooses not to remember it (Isa. 43:25). Christians do not forget the past;
but we are not controlled or motivated by it. The Christian looks to the future
with hope.
The people of the world focus on what they are overcoming. Christians
focus on what they are becoming. Christians know that the Holy Spirit is
conforming them into the image of Christ. Christians know that ultimately they
will stand before Christ to give an account of their actions and will spend an
eternity in the presence of God. Christians know that eventually every injustice
will be addressed and every hurt comforted. They know that Satan, and death
itself, will finally be brought to an end. The Christian’s future is so full
and rich and exciting that it supersedes whatever happened in the past.
If you are preoccupied with your past, ask God to open your eyes to the
incredible future that awaits you and begin, like Paul, to press on to what is
ahead.
