"I'm not going back. I'm moving ahead. Here to declare to you. My past is over. In You, all things are made new. Surrendered my life to Christ. I'm moving, moving forward." — Israel Houghton, Ricardo Sanchez
In 2009, Israel Houghton released the song Moving Forward on his album The Power of One. This song about the redemption, regeneration, and renewal that is found in relinquishing your life, renouncing your sins, and receiving forgiveness and a new life in Jesus took hold in the culture. Churches around the world sing it to welcome the New Year with a fresh start or to celebrate baptisms. As we enter 2025 we don't look back...we look AHEAD - further forward in space; in the line of one's forward motion; further forward in time; in advance; in the near future; higher in number, amount, or value than previously.
Ahead is a nautical term for the direction forward in front of the bow of the ship. One might say, "The captain ordered the ship to steer 'ahead' to maintain course towards the destination." In what direction will we steer our lives in 2025? Will we continue to hold on to past hurts, sins, regrets, and failures? Will we persist in clinging to the often false nostalgia of past victories, triumphs, and successes as if there is nothing left for us to do or contribute? Or will we move forward? There is a reason the windshield of a car is larger than the rear view and side mirrors. It's because most of our time and attention should be placed on what is before us...not on what is behind us, or who might be passing us up on either side,
The Apostle Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) wrote about this in Philippians 3. Saul was a man of supremely high achievements in spirituality and education as a Pharisee. He was of the highest social rank in Jewish culture. Saul was so zealous about Judaism that he swore to root out any 'false messiahs' that might arise to threaten it. So when the followers of "The Way" claimed to believe that Jesus Christ was The Messiah, he gravely persecuted, imprisoned, and murdered them. Acts 8 shows Saul standing over and approving of deacon Stephen's stoning. It was not until Saul had a direct and blinding encounter with Jesus himself on the road to Damascus that he was converted, and his name and destiny were changed. Paul had a lot of success in his former life. He also had a lot of regrets for the innocent lives he had taken in the name of 'righteousness.' I can't imagine the repercussions of the loss of his former status. Or the way people interacted with him post-conversion. How haunting the memories of slaying Christ-followers were for him...or how mind boggling it would be for Jesus to still choose him to lead, and cause the family and friends of the people he'd killed and imprisoned to forgive him and call him brother. He wrote these words.
7But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in a Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers 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, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
We make resolutions to start a New Year. They say only 20% are kept, while 80% are abandoned by February. Wouldn't forgetting the past and moving AHEAD to the future be a great for that 20%? What if this year, we really cleaned our slates and started anew?
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