...straining forward to what lies ahead!

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	11.4	13-17	^
Platelets	49	140-375	v
ANC	2170	1800-8300	v

"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

Sometimes I have to remind myself of this verse. The Apostle here is writing to the church in Philippi. This new church was being attacked by "Judaizers," Jews who were trying to convince the followers of Jesus that in addition to faith in Christ, they needed to be circumcised, in order to be reconciled to God. Paul makes a fervent plea for them to remember what he would also write to the church in Rome: 

"...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [reconciled to God] ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified [made pure in God's eyes], and with the mouth one confesses [that Jesus is the Son of God] and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10, emphasis and bracketed material added)

In other words. There is no need for "Faith in Jesus plus____ (fill in the blank)." Simple trust in Jesus and surrendering to His will, is all that is required. Paul admits earlier in the Philippians passage, that he is not perfect at remembering and practicing what he preaches, but then, he had been a Jew raised in strict compliance with the Law. So, it was second nature for him to think first of conforming to the Jewish law. Now he needed to remember that Jesus said:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17, emphasis added) 

Jesus' words don't mean that the Jewish Law was abolished by His sacrificial death on a Roman cross; rather that His sacrifice on our behalf, fulfills our duty to keep the law. Instead of following rules, He calls us to love Him, and loving Him means loving His children, i.e., loving our neighbors. Jesus said it this way: 

"You shall love the Lord your God [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40, emphasis and bracketed material added)

Did you notice the phrase "the Law and the Prophets?" Compare that to the Matthew 5:17 passage which mentions "the Law or the Prophets." These phrases refer to the Jewish Law and the Prophets who, under the influence of God the Holy Spirit, brought that Law to the Hebrew people. What it boils down to is that the whole of Jewish religious teaching in the Old Testament is fulfilled by Jesus' work on the cross. He came so that His love for mankind could be realized through the hearts and hands of those who Love Him and His children, not by a bunch of people following a rule book. 

Well, now that was a long lead in to what I started out to write about. Today, we completed the transaction of selling our travel trailer. It was a bitter-sweet moment, when we realized that this is "the end of an era." For seventeen years RVing was a source of joy and satisfaction for us. We enjoyed God's creation and had many opportunities to meet and befriend the people we were privileged to encounter. 

Almost simultaneously, Jill and I said, "But this is more like the beginning of a new chapter." And so it is. We had breakfast out this morning, while our housekeeper did a beautiful job of cleaning the house. In order to give Molly enough time to do her work, we lingered over our omelet and hash browns. We began thinking of new ways we can explore God's creation and love His children. 

One of our favorite shows on TV is "Great Canal Journeys" [available on Amazon Prime], starring Prunella Scales and her husband Timothy West. They were actors on the British stage and in the movies. Now in their 80s and in their sixth decade of marriage, they are mostly retired and exploring the canals that were built in the UK during the industrial revolution, in order to provide a means of transportation of manufactured goods. 

Pru and Tim travel mostly by what is called a "narrow boat." These craft are about eight feet wide and up to sixty feet long, so that they can navigate the narrow canals and locks. In many ways they resemble RVs. They are fitted with the comforts of home: kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, but they float instead of being towed or driven down the highway. Pru and Tim spent most of their free time during their careers on a narrow boat exploring with their two sons and Tim's daughter from a previous marriage.

At the end of last night's episode, Tim said something along the lines of, "You may think that people our age shouldn't be doing this any longer. But instead of worrying about what MIGHT happen, you just need to go ahead and do it and deal with the challenges one by one." 

And so, Jill and I are at the beginning of a new chapter, the nature of which is unclear at this moment, but like the Apostle, who was leaving behind the old era of slavery to the law, we find ourselves "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 

Let the new chapter begin!