When Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert died, a fellow journalist wrote of him: "With all his notoriety, honors, and celebrity, all his exclusive interviews and star-dusted encounters with movie greats, Ebert never forgot the essence of what we do - review movies. And he reviewed them with an infectious zeal and probing intellect" (Dennis King, The Oklahoman).
The apostle Paul never forgot the essence of what God wanted him to be and do. Focus and enthusiasm were at the heart of his relationship with Christ. Whether he was reasoning with philosophers in Athens, experiencing shipwreck in the Mediterranean, or being chained to a Roman soldier in prison, he focused on his calling to know Christ and "the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings" and to teach about Him (Phil. 3:10).
While he was in prison, Paul wrote: "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" (3:13-14). Whatever his circumstances, Paul continually pressed forward in his calling as a disciple of Christ. May we always remember the essence, the heart, of who we are called to be and what we are called to do as followers of Jesus.
Dear Lord, help me to forget the past and to leave all unfairness, injustice, insult and betrayal in Your all-knowing Presence. Please speak to me when I feel most alone. Thank you. Amen
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