| | | | His grace is Greater - Philippians 3:13-14 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, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
A few years ago my laptop became infected with a computer virus that was so debilitating that I had to completely wipe the hard drive in order to get rid of it. But once I reformatted the drive, and reinstalled all of the software (along with a better anti-virus package!), everything was fine. I don't know about you, but sometimes I wish I could do the same with my memory, and erase those pesky, debilitating memories of past failures.
I think the Apostle Paul may have had that thought from time to time. Before he came to Christ on the road to Damascus, Paul was a zealous persecutor of Christians. Paul was responsible for Christians being jailed, even stoned to death, destroying many families in the process. If anyone was a candidate for therapy, it was Paul. He could have founded "Persecutors Anonymous!"
But rather than dwell on the past, Paul leaned to set those things aside, and instead focus on his calling as a Christian. But the key to Paul's therapy wasn't mental discipline, nor the latest behavioral recovery model. Paul understood one thing: The grace of God.
Paul understood that although his sins were great, God's grace was greater. Paul had internalized the great truth that Christ had taken the penalty for his sins, and had raised him up, giving him new life, and setting him on a course that would fulfill the purpose of his existence: To proclaim the goodness of Christ!
One of the songs we sing at our church epitomizes this great truth:
Raised to Life
Precious compassion that pours
From the wounds that have won our salvation
Sin was strong but the Savior is stronger
Come let us worship Him
Great was the debt that we owed
And how high was the price of our healing
Paid in full by the One who is worthy
Come let us worship Him
Raised to life with Christ the Savior
In His name a new creation
Now our song will rise
Adoring Christ the Lord
Sin was strong
But Jesus is stronger
Our shame was great
But Jesus You're greater
"Lord, help me to set aside the failures of my past, and instead focus on the upward call of Christ for my life today."
Pastor Clay | | | | | | | |
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