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Future

Leaving the past behind

Blast OffCynicism is something that comes easily with increasing age. The longer you have been alive, the more likely it is that you have experienced disappointment. It’s hard to have a positive outlook on the future when experience proves that optimism is usually unwarranted. So what can you do to get 2008 off to a great start? In his letter to the Philippians, Paul said, “I forget about anything in the past, and stretch forward to the things which are ahead.”

To put things in context, at the time he wrote the letter, Paul was languishing in prison. He was even being persecuted by others who claimed to be Christians, people who preached Christ “out of jealousy and conflict”. There was plenty for Paul to despair about in his present situation, and there was plenty for his to feel guilty about in his past, when he himself had persecuted innocent people. But rather than staying mired in a paralysis of regret and despair, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the future.

According to Paul, it doesn’t matter what you have done, where you have been, or what your present circumstances are. You can’t afford to rest on past glories, and you can’t afford to dwell on past embarrassments. All that matters is what lies ahead: “I aim towards the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”