Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14

PERSONAL GROWTH LEADS to marital growth. Personal growth can come in many ways, including dealing with feelings of inferiority and superiority, or understanding our personality and how it affects our marriages. Today, I want to address the need to accept those things about yourself that cannot be changed.

Perhaps the most influential unchangeable factor in your life is your history. Your parents, for better or for worse, dead or alive, known or unknown, are your parents. Your childhood is your childhood and stands as history. Your marriage or past relationships fall into the same category. No matter the circumstances, it is futile to reason, “We should never have gotten married in the first place.” The fact cannot be changed. You can divorce, often with great pain, but you can never erase your marriage. Your history is not to be changed, but accepted and dealt with.

The apostle Paul had a past he would have liked to erase. Once a self-righteous Pharisee, he zealously persecuted Christians, having some of them imprisoned. He turned around completely, eventually becoming the most well-known missionary in the early church. He accomplished much for the Kingdom of God—yet he always had to live with his past. It’s clear from today’s passage that Paul did that primarily by looking ahead, toward the future. The same goes for us. We must confess our failures, accept God’s forgiveness—and then move on. When you accept your past and focus on the future, you are moving toward a growing marriage.

Father, thank you for Paul’s example of moving beyond his past. You know there are things I’d like to change. I bring all of those to you. Please help me to accept your forgiveness and comfort and then move on, looking to the future. May it include a strong marriage!

Future