BE YOUR BEST

BE YOUR BEST

Phil. 3:13-14 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.  NLT

      We need to be honest with ourselves.  We need to admit that we are not yet all that we should be in Christ.  No one has reached the point where he cannot be a better person in Him.  The Lord is never done with us.  We will never be finished projects while on earth. 

       Instead of focusing on who we might already be in Christ, we should focus on becoming more like Christ.  It doesn’t matter how far we have come, it only matters how far we are yet going.  We slow up our progress when we dwell on our past growth.  All of our energies need to be put into reaching our goal, which is to finish well the race of life in Christ.  Our goal should always be to be more holy today than we were yesterday.  We should always put our best efforts into being faithful and true to our calling in Christ.  We will be rewarded for our faithfulness, not our past achievements. 

      The more we let go of our past, the less trouble we will have moving forward.  Whatever was in your past needs to stay there.  Christ forgives us for our past and it is wiped from the memory of God.  We would be wise to do the same.  We are not who we were; we are who we are in Christ.  Let us keep our eyes focused on our future in Christ and do our very best to become all that we can be in Christ.

      We should take an honest look at ourselves and identify those areas where we need to continue to grow.  We all have them.  Ask the Lord to help you work on them.  You can grow and become a better child of faith if you will let the Lord help you.

      If you have a hard time identifying what you need to work on, ask a trusted friend to tell you.  It may be awkward, but if he is a true friend, He will tell you in a loving way what you can do to be a better servant of the Lord.  A true friend won’t judge you, he will lovingly encourage you as you grow in Christ. 

      And, if you are a true friend, you will return the favor.  You will lovingly help another to know what they need to work on without being judgmental of them.  No one has it all together without areas to work on in their walk with the Lord.

      It takes all the effort we can muster to stay true to Christ and grow in Him.  Let us not slack off but work hard so that we will be ready when the Lord comes to call us home.