Pressing on

After Philippians 3:12-14

It’s the one thing, 

pressing on, pressing

forward. It doesn’t

mean the past is

useless or lacks

meaning; the past

is what has shaped

me, it’s where I

come from, and what

happened there 

shaped the present

and the future. But

the point here is

not the past but

pressing on toward

the goal, the wreath

of laurel, the prize

for hearing and

heeding the call

upward. It’s

the one thing,

the one thing that

matters, the thing

that’s life itself.

 

Photograph by Chan via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The one thing

After Philippians 3:12-14

I love history, especially

my history, the history

of me. I love looking

back, to see how far

I’ve come, what 

I’ve achieved, what

obstacles I’ve overcome,

celebrating my journey,

sharing my wisdom.

Except none of it is

true; it only looks true

when given a superficial

glance. By me. Scratch

the façade, and what

lies beneath was

brought to me by him,

only him, the one.

I don’t forget what

lies behind; instead,

understanding what

I know and where

I come from, I strain

forward to what lies

ahead, as if I’m running

a race. What lies

behind is important;

what lies ahead is

vital.

 

Photograph by Eric Muhr via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Self-made: not

After Philippians 3:12-14

The spotlight is on self;

the self loves the spotlight,

the attention, the flattery

(even if from the self),

the affirmation. Not

to mention control. 

Every good heresy

starts with self and

often ends with self.

I could brag, I suppose,

and say I did it all

my way (sounds like

a song), but the fact is

whatever self was, is

involved, he gets

the credit, because

myself was himself;

he made me his own.

A slow transformation,

to be sure, sometimes

even tortured. Whom

am I kidding? Not

sometimes. Try all

the time; I was

that stubborn.

 

Photograph by Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash. Used with permission.