Do you want to know the secret to being unforgettable?
Recently while studying the book of Philippians I was reminded of an old song my father used to sing when I was a young boy.
"Not 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." Philippians 3:12
There's a place of sanctified, holy dissatisfaction that we are to have as followers of Christ. A place where God remains an enigma. Someone who is an eternal mystery and a puzzle. Often as Christians we settle and are satisfied with where we are in our faith, thinking we have arrived and know all that there is to know about God. We count our years of faith. We measure the amount of our service. Been there, done that. We become satisfied and settle.
Paul writes and talks about this holy, divine dissatisfaction.
"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,..." Philippians 3:13
Paul then explains how that divine dissatisfaction works. He says that although I have not taken hold of it there's a divine devotion marked by "one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining ahead..."
What does the Bible mean about the "one thing." David speaks of the one thing as dwelling in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. Jesus tells the rich young ruler the one thing he lacks, sell everything and follow me. He also tells Martha, you are so busy with so many things while your sister Mary has found the one thing that matters - "Devotion to ME."
The one thing connotes a divine devotion. A devotion that is able to forget the past (both the good and the bad) while straining ahead.
Fact is forgetting things is not natural or easy. Specially things that are hard to forget, like a pretty ex-girlfriend. The harder you try to forget the harder it gets to forget her. The best way to forget is to have someone who is more beautiful and awesome. More significantly, one who loves you so much more.
Which brings me to the song my Dad used to sing. A song by Nat King Cole titled "Unforgettable." Here's a portion of it's lyrics:
"Unforgettable in every way. And forever more, that's how you'll stay. That's why Jesus, it's incredible that someone so unforgettable thinks that I am unforgettable too."
I took the liberty of changing the word darling to the name of Jesus. For He is truly the unforgettable One. And forever more that's how He'll stay.
When we make Jesus the ultimate measure of what's incredible then we become at some measure incredible too. In and by ourselves we are worthless. But since Christ who is the most valuable values us we become valuable too. Similarly when we make Him the One who is unforgettable we get to the place of realizing that to Him we too are unforgettable.
Have a great week!
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
