Real love doesn’t just sit around! Sometimes you don’t get things right (like love) the first time, but you keep trying. One of the best things you can do to honor God and improve your life is to keep reaching toward the future. Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (NIV). Keeping an eternal mindset (an eternal perspective) will help you find the strength to keep going, even when you feel like you’ve failed.
God helps you dust yourself off and get back up again. Our culture keeps score, but God isn’t like that! He’s not keeping a record of your failures and throwing them back in your face. God is love. Some people think that Jesus came to abolish the law, but He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-20). And what the law couldn’t fulfill was LOVE. Jesus did that for you. When trying to move forward in life, you can’t keep looking back! Focus on love and forgiveness.
The past, while important, is in the past! I don’t want you to completely forget your past, but you shouldn’t stare, stew, or sour on the past! The past should only help you, give you tools for the future. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope” (Romans 15:4, NIV). Learn from your past to pave the way for a better future.
Let the love of Christ compel you forward. If you spend your life looking back in fear, you’ll start looking ahead in fear. Instead of the stare, stew, and sour mood you might be tempted to fall into, you should meditate, memorize, and be mindful of the Word of God and the promises found there. Love doesn’t focus on the past, but learns from it. Love DOES take action and rest in God’s hope!