UPWARD AND ONWARD - Eileen Jackson
About moving forward, growing in Christ and discovering the life God has placed within us
“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… Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:12–14 (NIV)
Introduction: Life is a journey, not a destination
There is something wonderfully encouraging about the words Upward and Onward. They suggest movement, hope, progress and possibility. They remind us that wherever we find ourselves today, we do not have to remain there.
Life can sometimes feel like an uphill struggle. We encounter disappointments, setbacks, bereavements, failures, broken relationships, ill health and unanswered questions. Sometimes we feel we are moving forward; at other times we seem to be going backwards.
But the Christian message is fundamentally a message of hope. God has not called us to spend our lives looking backwards, dwelling on our failures or being imprisoned by our past. He invites us into a continuing journey of discovery.
UPWARD
Towards a greater awareness of God, ourselves and their life within us
ONWARD
Towards the fullness of life that Christ came to give us.
And the wonderful thing is that we do not make this journey alone.
UPWARD – Lift your up eyes
There are many scripture verses encouraging us to “look up” because our focus, our gaze, determines our attitude
1: The song of Ascents Psalm121:1
: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help."
2: "My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."
3–4: The Lord will not let your foot slip and never slumbers or sleeps as the protector of Israel. [1]
5–6: He acts as your shade on your right hand, shielding you from the sun by day and the moon by night.
7–8: He preserves your soul and guards your going out and coming in forevermore.
This was supposedly sung by pilgrims on their yearly journey up to Jerusalem, situated, of course high on a plateau in a range of hills called the Judean Mountains.
Paul wrote:
Hebrews 12:2
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
ThIs verse calls believers to shift their gaze away from earthly distractions, fears, or trials and fix their full attention on Jesus Christ. (KJV)
“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
COLOSSIANS 3:1–2 (NIV)
What does it mean to look upward and set your mind on “things above”? Does it mean “being so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good”, as the saying goes? Not at all. Quite the reverse. It doesn't mean escaping from the realities of everyday life. It means learning to see and live life and our experiences with a different, better and a much clearer perspective.
Nowadays people would say, stop looking down at your phone scrolling through unhelpful posts and look up to see a better view around you, notice the realities of your real life In Christ!
When teaching young children to throw in P E lessons I soon learnt it isn't what they do with their hands that makes an effective throw, but how well they can focus on the target- whether it’s a net, a goal or a receiving person. Keeping your eyes entirely fixed on the point where you want the ball to land means your hand will follow through successfully. By contrast I notice as an older person if I am not concentrating properly I am likely to miss a table with a cup or even the door space with my body!! Consistent focus is required. Your body follows where your eyes are taking you. In the same way, we need to be fully focused and undistracted internally. Our attitudes, how we understand or see situations, affect how we are looking at them and how wisely we can manage them.
We can become so preoccupied with what is happening around us that we lose sight of what is happening within us. We look at our problems, our circumstances, our limitations and our disappointments, which can bring us down
But the Psalmist, and Paul, encourages us to lift our eyes and see beyond what is immediately visible to know how to live our day to day lives.
Our response, as well as our identity, is not determined by our circumstances or our natural ability to cope with them.
Neither is our relationship with God and the wisdom we hope to receive from him is not something we have to earn, achieve or maintain through religious performance, so that he will only help us if we have done something to please him. We act in partnership with them when dealing with everything and everyone we meet because we are a part of them, his family and where he is, we are:
“God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.”
EPHESIANS 2:6 (NIV)
Think about that! Our position in Christ is not something we have to climb towards. It is something achieved for us and we are invited to discover for ourselves. It is something we are invited to find out, and to live from. Sometimes we spend our lives trying to “get closer to God” when the Gospel tells us that, in Christ, God has already come close to us and is with and within us.
Illustration: The sunflower
A sunflower naturally turns towards the light. It doesn't struggle to manufacture sunlight. It simply responds to it. Perhaps there is a lesson here for us. Instead of constantly striving to become acceptable to God, we can turn towards the light of His love. The more we become aware of His love, the more our lives can reflect it.
Question for reflection:
Where are we looking? Are we over- focussing on the difficulties surrounding us, or at the possibilities we can perceive with divine help?
2. ONWARD – Don't allow the past to imprison you
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:13–14 (NIV)
Paul had quite a past! He had persecuted Christians. He had made mistakes. He had experienced rejection, imprisonment, hardship and suffering. Yet he refused to allow his past to dictate his future. He had, he says, been particularly religious but regarded religion as “trash” compared to the truth learnt in Christ .
There are two ways we can become prisoners of our past:
We can live with regret about things we have done.
We can live with resentment about things that have been done to us.
Both can prevent us from moving forward. Sometimes we carry yesterday's disappointments into today's opportunities. We allow old labels to define us: failure, rejection, inadequacy, unworthiness, not good enough. But these things do not have to define our identity.
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 (NIV)
The Gospel is not simply about release from the past. It is about discovering a new way of living. We are not required to keep looking in the rear-view mirror. We can acknowledge the past, learn from it and allow God to bring healing, without allowing it to control our future.
Illustration: Driving a car
Think about driving a car. The windscreen is much larger than the rear-view mirror. Why? Because where we are going is much more important than where we have been! We need the rear-view mirror occasionally, but we cannot drive safely if we spend all our time looking backwards.
REMEMBER
Learn from yesterday. Live today. Look forward to tomorrow.
Question for reflection:
Is there anything from our past that we are allowing to hold us back?
3. UPWARD – Discover the life of Christ within you
The people Jesus spoke to found this difficult to understand. For them God was over there, at a distance, in the Temple or up a holy mountain perhaps. Separated by his holiness from sinful human beings. Just because they “feel distant” to people sometimes, it doesn’t mean they are.
In Luke 17:20–21, Jesus tells the Pharisees that the kingdom of God is not coming with visible spectacles or localized geographic claims, famously stating that "the kingdom of God is within you". Greek Translation for ("Among You"): The Greek word entos translated as "within" in older versions can also mean "in the midst of" or "among". Jesus was addressing His critics (the Pharisees). He was saying God's reign was potentially residing inside their unrepentant hearers but they could or would not change the way they thought to see this vital truth. Paul puts it this way:
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
COLOSSIANS 1:27
This is perhaps the most exciting aspect of our Christian journey. Christianity is not simply about following an example outside ourselves. It is about discovering the presence and life of Christ within us as we aim to embrace his teachings.
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you.”
JOHN 15:4 (NIV)“You are in me, and I am in you.”
JOHN 14:20 (NIV)
What an extraordinary statement! The Christian life is not primarily about trying harder, doing more religious activities or struggling to become someone we are not. It is about allowing the life of Christ to find expression through us.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
GALATIANS 2:20 (NIV)
We are not trying to manufacture love, patience, kindness, compassion and goodness through sheer determination. We are learning to live from the life of the Spirit within us.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
GALATIANS 5:22–23 (NIV)
Notice that Paul calls it fruit. Fruit grows from life. It is not stuck onto a tree! Less about trying to become “good” or “ better” and more about allowing the life of Christ to become increasingly visible in our everyday lives: how we treat people, respond to difficulties, forgive, love ourselves and others, and bring peace rather than conflict.
Question for reflection:
What might change if we began each day with the awareness that Christ lives in us?
4. ONWARD – Keep growing. Never stop discovering
“We all… are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.”
2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 (NIV)
The Christian journey is not static. There is always more to discover about God, ourselves and the possibilities of living in His love.
We can become older without necessarily becoming wiser. We can attend church for years without necessarily becoming more loving. We can accumulate biblical knowledge without allowing it to transform our attitudes.
But God's invitation is to keep growing:
To become more compassionate.
More accepting and forgiving.
More courageous and authentic.
More like our brother. Jesus.
This growth is not simply about becoming better at following religious rules, which Paul called “trash” or even “excrement”! It is about transformation from within.
Consider how Jesus treated people:
He welcomed those others rejected.
He restored dignity to those who felt worthless.
He showed compassion to those who were suffering.
He challenged hypocrisy and religious pride.
He encouraged people to discover a different way of living.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
JOHN 10:10 (NIV)
Not merely existence. Not simply survival. But fullness of life.
Illustration: The river
A river is alive because it moves. When water becomes stagnant, it loses its freshness. Our lives too can become stagnant when we stop learning, loving, exploring and discovering. God's invitation is not to stand still but to keep moving. Not necessarily faster. Not necessarily doing more. But growing deeper.
5. UPWARD AND ONWARD – Even when the journey is difficult
We must not imagine that moving forward means life will always be easy. Paul knew what it was to suffer. Jesus himself experienced rejection, sorrow, betrayal and suffering. Yet neither allowed suffering to have the final word.
“The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
ROMANS 8:18 (ESV)“Nothing… will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
ROMANS 8:38–39 (NIV)
Sometimes moving onward means:
Taking a risk
Simply getting out of bed in the morning.
Forgiving someone.
Accepting that we cannot change our circumstances, but can change how we respond to them.
Recognising that we need help.
Having the courage to begin again.
Illustration: The mountain path
Some people enjoy a walking challenge like the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge: Whernside, Pen-y-Ghent and ingleborough. Others like running challenges like the Great North Run or the London Marathon. We have see our own Prime Minister and Sir Kevin Sinfield raising money for charity in this way.
Walkers and runners quickly learn that when climbing a mountain, we cannot often see the summit, or the end of thexrace. Sometimes they can only see the next few steps. But they don't need to see the whole journey to take the next stage, or even the next step. Perhaps that is what faith is about: trusting God with the journey, even when we cannot see the final lap or destination climb.
6. Three practical challenges: How do we live upward and onward?
1. Look inward and upward every day
Make time to pause, focus and become aware of God's love and presence. Remember: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
2. Leave yesterday where it belongs
Don't allow regret, resentment or past failures to rob you of today's possibilities. Receive God's grace and begin again.
3. Move onward with love
Ask yourself:
What opportunities do I have today to show care ?
How can I bring encouragement to someone today?
How can I respond to difficulties with the attitude of Christ?
What new possibilities might God be opening before me?
We don't have to change the whole world today. We can begin with one person, one decision and one act of love.
Conclusion: The best is not necessarily behind us!
Sometimes people reach a certain age or stage in life and begin to think that their best days are behind them. Perhaps they feel that opportunities have passed, that they have made too many mistakes or that there is little left to discover.
But the Christian message is one of continuing hope. Moses was 80 when he began leading Israel out of Egypt. Caleb was 85 when he declared that he was ready to take possession of the mountain God had promised him (Joshua 14:10–12). Abraham and Sarah discovered that God's purposes were not limited by their age. And Paul, towards the end of his life, was still pressing forward.
There is no age limit on discovering more of God's love. There is no retirement age for kindness, compassion, wisdom, encouragement and new caring opportunities. There is always someone to love, something to learn, something to discover and another chance to make a difference.
So let us not live our lives looking backwards with regret, standing still in fear or striving to become acceptable to God. Let us live from the love that is already ours in Christ. Let us lift our eyes. Let us open our hearts. Let us embrace the possibilities of tomorrow.
UPWARD
Growing in our awareness of God's love and life within us.
ONWARD
Allowing that love to transform how we live, how we think and how we treat others.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
PHILIPPIANS 1:6 (NIV)
A FINAL THOUGHT
Don't let your past determine your future, don't let your circumstances determine your attitude, and don't let your age or stage in life determine your possibilities. Keep looking upward, keep moving onward, and keep discovering the life of Christ within you.
Closing prayer
Father, thank you that our lives are held in your love.
Help us to lift our eyes above our circumstances and become more aware of your presence within us.
Give us the courage to leave behind the things that hold us back and the faith to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead.
May the life of Christ become increasingly visible in us. Teach us to love more deeply, forgive more freely, live more courageously and encourage those around us.
Whatever our age, whatever our circumstances and whatever our past, help us to remember that your love never lets us go.
May we live each day upward and onward, discovering more of the fullness of life that Jesus came to give us.