A Blank Slate

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

When does Christmas start or end? If you’re a kid it starts when school is out for the holidays and ends on that dreaded day when you head back to school. For some people they wish the Christmas season would keep going. In some ways that would be nice as aspects of society seem to be a little nicer at this time of year. There are such heartwarming stories of what people do for each other that don’t seem to happen at other times of the year. As Christians the Christmas season should never end. Although it happens at the end of the year it is a celebration of the beginning of new things.

Christ’s birth was the earthly beginning of the plan for our redemption, which is a perfect transition into changing our focus from Christmas to the approaching New Year.

Goals. Resolutions. Plans. Diets. Dreams.

It’s the upcoming blank slate of a new year that holds our attention. But for now we’re in the happy in-between time where we get to remember the Christmas memories and reflect on the blessings God has given us in this last year before we rush into planning for next year.

What did Paul mean by “forgetting the past?” I don’t think he meant to never think about what’s happened or taken place, but not to allow your mind to dwell on the things in the past that weigh you down or to relive past failures. The past is there as a teaching tool to help us know how to live, speak and act better but not to be a reminder of where we have fallen short. Reflecting on the good things that have happened allow us to develop a thankful heart and look for ways to recognize God’s hand moving in and around us.

The past is not there to define you but to help form you.

Sometimes you need to reflect on where you’ve been before you can concentrate on where you are headed. When we do that often our frail human mind will bring up the failures of this last year, or the goals we didn’t reach, yet Paul encourages us not to dwell on that when he wrote that “I am still not all that I should be” and told the church in Philipii not to look backwards but to look ahead and press on toward Christ. Paul, who we look to as inspiration for what it means to live as a follower of Christ, was saying that he wasn’t all he needed to be. He wasn’t beating himself up, or wallowing in failures or lost opportunities, but making a simple and honest appraisal of himself and acknowledging that he still had room to grow. He was learning from his past, as should we.

Enjoy this brief respite in time where the old year is still here.

Review. Reflect. Learn.