“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”–Philippians 3:12–14
The collapse of the French defenses and the rapid advance of the Nazi armies in May of 1940 left hundreds of thousands of British, Canadian, and French forces in danger of being surrounded and destroyed. A desperate rescue effort was put in place called Operation Dynamo. British officials hoped to save at least 45,000 troops by using naval boats and fishing vessels to ferry them across the English Channel before the Germans arrived. The operation was a huge success, and in the end nearly 350,000 Allied soldiers were rescued. Many in England viewed it as a triumph, but Winston Churchill took to the floor of the House of Commons to point out a painful truth amid the rejoicing. “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.”
The direction of the Christian life is meant to be forward, not backward. Though we encounter obstacles and opposition, we must remember that retreat is not an option and that the victory has already been secured for us. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). We are not to be constantly looking back either in regret for things done or undone, or with desire for what is in the past. Instead we are to be looking to Jesus and striving to accomplish all that we can for Him.-(Daily in the Word)
