| | In my last post about "Kingdom-obsessed people," I wrote about our need to keep chasing what matters. Now I'd like to look at how Kingdom-obsessed people don't keep looking in the rear view mirror. By the looking in the rear view mirror, I mean looking back at our past. Focusing on the past only hinders us from chasing what matters and keeps us from running with endurance the race set before us.
Right now I expect to have 4 at least 4 posts related to this topic:
Given that I'm not quite sure how many posts I will have, I will update this list as I make additional posts...[9/10.08]
# 1 The Problem of the Rear View Mirror (General Introduction, this post)
# 2 Looking Back in the Rear View Mirror at the Good
# 3 Looking Back in the Rear View MIrror at the Good
# 4 Kingdom-Obsessed People don't look back in the rear view mirror at "unfinished" work
# 5 Kingdom-Obsessed People don't keep looking in the rear view mirror at past hurts
# 6 Kingdom-Obsessed People don't keep looking back at past sins (dealing with guilt): "Forgiven Sinner, What Do You See?" (I will have several posts about guilt. You can access them all from this link.)
# 7 Kingdom Obsessed People don't keep looking back at their failures (My conversations with God about failure) (I didn't specifically list them as such but I'm going to include them here like this. You can access them all from this link; below are links to the separate posts.)
Kingdom-Obsessed People don't keep looking in the rearview mirror: Summary
* * *
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless.7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Philippians 3:1-15.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2.
THE PROBLEM OF THE REAR VIEW MIRROR
When we keep looking in the rear view mirror of our lives, we cannot run the race marked out for us as we ought. We certainly can and should look
back on occasion, but we cannot obsess about the past and continue to focus there and dwell there. We can (and should) look back to give thanks for past blessings and we can (and should) look back to evaluate and to learn, but we cannot allow the past to consume us and keep us from looking forward and moving forward and pressing on and running the race set before us.
We can look back at both good and bad incidents from our past in destructive ways, in ways that hinder us from running well. When we inordinately cling to the past, we don't live in the present and we lose sight of our vision for the future.
The rear view mirror in my car can be very helpful and is definitely necessary, but if I were to start up my car and begin to drive but constantly keep looking in my rear view mirror, I would be an accident waiting to happen! When I'm driving in my car, I can't possibly expect to drive safely if I keep my eyes fixed in the rear view mirror. The mirror can assist me as I travel. I can and should look in it from time to time to be safe, but I can't remain focused there.
The same thing happens in our life journeys. When we keep looking back to our past, we're an accident waiting to happen and prime prey for the prowling lion. If we keep looking backward at the past (good or bad), we become bound to the past. We cannot appreciate what God is giving us today and we cannot clearly discern where God wants to lead us in the future. The past can act as quicksand and keep us from running with endurance the race set before us. When we remain mired in the past, we no longer chase Who and what matters.
With Jesus' call to discipleship, there is the unrelenting demand to let go of all that hinders us so we might follow Him wholeheartedly:
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. 58 And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
59 To another he said, Follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. 60 And Jesus said to him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. 61 Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home. 62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:57-62.
Christ calls us to live differently than the world...
Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.
What from our past keeps us from following Christ?
What from our past keeps us from going and proclaiming the Kingdom of God as Jesus commands?
No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.
What from our past tempts us to look back?
How is our past threatening us to make us unfit for the Kingdom of God?
It is the Father's pleasure to give us the Kingdom.
It is Jesus' commission to us to go and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations.
It is the Spirit's work to empower us to be witnesses for the Kingdom?
Have we become obsessed with looking back in the rear view mirror rather than being obsessed with the Kingdom?
...let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1b.
Anything or anyone that hinders or hampers us from wholehearted commitment to Him must be cast off–no exceptions. We're not even
allowed to bring along a small carry-on bag if it would weigh us down and keep us from running well ...We're to ... count all things loss, suffer the loss of all things and count them as rubbish ... to lay aside every weight and sin.
The process of running the Kingdom race is a continuing one. As we press into the Kingdom, we sell all we have to attain the pearl, the hidden treasure, we count all things but loss to attain it, but then once we are in the Kingdom we must live in the same manner. Matthew Henry writes of the apostle Paul:
But indeed even also do I count all things but loss. He had spoken before of those things, his Jewish privileges: here he speaks of all things, all worldly enjoyments and mere outward privileges whatsoever, things of a like kind or any other kind which could stand in competition with Christ for the throne in his heart, or pretend to merit and desert. There he had said that he did count them but loss; but it might be asked, "Did he continue still in the same mind, did he not repent his renouncing them?" No, now he speaks in the present tense: Yea doubtless, I do count them but loss.[1]
Having entered the Kingdom race, we must continue to run the race with perseverance.
The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that we have need of endurance:
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Like Paul, we are to be always working out what Christ is working in us and that includes our continuing to count all things but loss:
Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord... (KJV)
We must continue to count all things loss. We must continue to forget what lies behind. We must continue to strain forward to what lies ahead.
If we keep looking back at the past, if we keep our eyes fixed in the rear view mirror, we aren't fixing our eyes on Jesus.
If we focus on the rear view mirror, we will find it more difficult to focus on the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
If we're looking backward, we can't concentrate on the race set before us.
If we seek to live in the past, we're no longer seeking His Kingdom first.
If we remain engrossed by what's in the rear view mirror, we are no longer captivated by the love of Jesus and the all-surpassing value of knowing Him.
ENGROSS: gain or keep exclusive possession of (something) ... [ORIGIN: from Old French eg gros, from medieval Latin in grosso 'wholesale.' [2]
In what ways does our past engross us?
What are some things which keep our eyes fixed on the rear view mirror rather than fixed on Christ?
Good things: Past blessings, past gains, past provision, past successes, past victories, past friendships.
Bad things: Past griefs, past losses, past affliction, past failures, past mistakes, past sins, past hurts.
As sinners purchased by the blood of Christ, Christ alone must engross and consume us and wholly possess us. Christ's blood has paid our ransom. We have been bought with a price. We are now God's exclusive possession. But do we live like it? But as for you... We are to live no longer for ourselves but for our Redeemer, who died for us. Like Paul, do count all things but loss? Do we forget what lies behind and press on ... because Christ Jesus has made [us] his own? Or is there something is our past we keep clinging to–something our Lord demands that we put behind us and count as loss? But as for you...
As we continue gazing in the rear view mirror, we are no longer gazing at Jesus. And not long after we take our eyes off Jesus, we will find ourselves off course and no longer running the race marked out for us.
Matthew Henry defined those things Paul counted but loss as
... all things, all worldly enjoyments and mere outward
privileges whatsoever, things of a like kind or any other kind which
could stand in competition with Christ for the throne in his heart, or
pretend to merit and desert....
he not only counted them
loss, but dung, skybala--offals
thrown to dogs; they are not only less valuable than Christ, but in the
highest degree contemptible, when they come in competition with him.[3]
How are we allowing our past to compete with Christ for the throne in [our] hearts?[4]
When we keep looking in that rear view mirror, we allow ourselves to be engrossed and controlled by our past, and Christ's rightful place on the throne of our hearts is usurped.
At that point, we must count such attitudes toward the past not only less valuable than Christ, but in the highest degree contemptible.
I admit that I am far from running the race without looking back in the mirror, but as I continue to identify my tendency to obsess over the past as sin (for that is what it is–anything that keeps us from wholehearted obedience and unswerving commitment to Christ is sin, no matter whatever other more palatable or convenient labels I might prefer to use–it is indeed "contemptible"), I can confess it and bring it to the cross of Christ where I can find sufficient mercy and grace as well as resurrection power to fight it so I will find myself looking back in the rear view mirror less often and looking ahead to Christ more.
As I write these things I realize no two of us share the same experiences, but one common experience we share as Christians running the race is that Satan wants to keep us looking back in the rear view mirror, to keep us bound to the past, to hinder us from running with perseverance the race marked out for us. He is prowling in an attempt to trip us up or hamstring us in any which way he can.
But the good news is that in addition to a common enemy we share a wonderful, victorious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. A Savior who is our perfect High Priest. He took on human flesh so He can relate to all we have experienced and will ever experience–the highest, brightest mountain top as well as the lowest grungiest gutter. Our Lord is able to help us as we are tempted today, as we struggle daily to run the race well. The Lamb's precious blood shed on Calvary has purchased victory over the grave, over sin, over Satan and all his devices. Jesus came to destroy the works of the evil one. And one of Satan's most insidious works is to enslave us to our past. Jesus has come to set us free, to break our prison chains by His perfect life, atoning death, resurrection and ascension. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died so we might have the freedom to run the race set before us. Our forerunner ran the race perfectly and finished the race marked out for Him. He is our hope and anchor. His resurrection life indwells us to strengthen us to run and not grow weary, to walk and not faint, so we might finish the race and not be disqualified. And while we run, as we seek to know and gain Christ, the One we seek to know and to gain runs alongside us!
As you read and reflect on these things, I would ask you to pray for the Holy Spirit to help you discern what (if anything) from your past keeps you looking in the rear view mirror and hinders you from running the race set before you.
As we run the race together, I pray God would grant us a clearer vision of the all-surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ, so Christ alone would will our vision, that we might fix our eyes on Him alone and press on to gain Christ and be found in Him. I pray the Holy Spirit would encourage us all as we press on together, strengthening us to look forward, to cast off all that weighs us down, to count all things as loss, and to forget what is behind by the power and grace of God. We can never run the race marked out for us with perseverance so long as the past engrosses us. It's no easy task, but no race worth finishing and winning comes without pain and struggle, without counting the cost.
Christ has set us free to run with endurance the race marked out for us
with hearts no longer captive to our past,
with eyes no longer fixed in the rear view mirror,
with minds no longer enslaved to past memories,
Christ has set us free to run with endurance the race marked out for us
with hearts wholly constrained by Christ's love,
with enlightened eyes fixed on Christ alone,
with transformed minds set on things above,
so we might run that we may obtain the prize,
so let us run that we may obtain the prize!
~Karen
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete
exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. I Corinthians 9:24-27.
Awake, My Soul, Stretch Every Nerve
(Philip Doddridge, 1755)
Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on;
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown,
And an immortal crown.
A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey;
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way,
And onward urge thy way.
’Tis God’s all animating voice
That calls thee from on high;
’Tis His own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye,
To thine aspiring eye.
Then wake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on,
A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown,
And an immortal crown.
Coming next: Looking Back in the Rear View Mirror at the Good
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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[1] Matthew Henry, "Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible," "Complete Commentary on Philippians."
[2] Oxford American Dictionaries.
[3] Matthew Henry.
[4] As I mentioned above, I plan to discuss this further in my next two posts in this series, one dealing with how we look back at the good things of our past and a second one addressing how we look back at the bad things.
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