by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Navigating Murky Waters

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this Looking to the SoundCloud link.

^“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.”
Philippians 3:13-14 New International Version

I have a feeling that I’ve used this Scripture in a previous devotion, though since I’ve written numerous blogs, it would take too long to find it.

I’m compelled to use it again because our world and our nation are wading through murky waters. When we experience stress, we tend to romanticize the past. We picture that what used to be is better than it was.

As I read Scripture and examine history there is one constant; the more things change, the more they stay the same. I know that’s an old cliche, but like an old shirt hanging in the closet, it’s good to pull it out every once in a while. Were the old days better than today? In some ways, yes, but in other ways, they have stayed the same.

For those of us who have been clothed with Christ, the truth that we are both sinners and saints hasn’t changed. Sin was as present in our past as it is today, and the reality of our resurrection with Christ has also remained constant. We needed the forgiveness that Jesus won for us in our past as much as we need it today.

The past isn’t as rosy as we want to think it was, or maybe need it to be, nor is the present as great as some of us want to think it is. As we navigate this murky world, our hope is not found in trying to recreate what was, but in understanding that salvation belongs to the Lord, yesterday, today, and forever.

So instead of looking back, Paul encourages us to look forward to the prize that is greater than our past, our present, and our future on this planet; the prize of being with Christ.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado