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. 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. of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.

(Philippians 3:12-17)

 

 

     It was a simple and yet at the same time a profound question. It was asked on an online discussion group and it consisted of only nine words: “What are the qualities of a good Christian person?” Simple, and yet profound. What's a good Christian? What does a good Christian look like? How does a good Christian act? I want to veer away from the idea that a good Christian is only defined by what a good Christian believes. I do that because belief somehow has to show itself in a way of life. It's no coincidence that the very first Christians were known as followers of “the Way.” A good Christian person has to in some way be defined by the quality of their life, and by their actions. But what is a good Christian and what does a good Christian do? I'll avoid the words of Jesus that should come to the forefront whenever anyone speaks of good Christians or claims to be a good Christian. Remember what Jesus said about goodness? “Only God is good.” True enough. But this was the way the question was worded, and I think we understand the meaning. “What are the qualities of a good Christian person.”

 

     Last Sunday, I mentioned a little bit about how many in the the world see Christians; the negative assumptions that they make about Christians; the caricatures that they draw of Christians. Those are all too common and can't be denied. But, of course, those negative assumptions are also caricatures of Christians; they don't reflect the reality of a typical Christian person. On the discussion board, someone's answer to the question was “ Loving. Joyful. Peaceful. Patient. Gracious. Faithful.” That's a kind of summary of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul, in Galatians 5, says we're supposed to show: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” That's all well and good – and I believe those qualities should mark a Christian's life – but, as someone pointed out later in the discussion, “these could be qualities of a good Muslim ... . We don't hold the monopoly ...” And that's true. Those qualities are on display in people of all faiths and in people of no faith. We'd like to think that the Holy Spirit helps us to show them in greater abundance, but still – Christians, warned by Jesus to remember that “only God is good,” should never claim any monopoly on these qualities of goodness, because by doing that we'd set ourselves up as better than everyone else. So I puzzled about this a bit for a few days. What are the qualities of a good Christian? And I found myself led by the Holy Spirit to this passage we read earlier from Philippians, and especially to this verse: “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.” This verse appealed to me – partly because I knew that today was Trinity Sunday, when the church typically spends time reflecting on the doctrine of the Trinity. This verse seemed to me to be very trinitarian. We believe that God is one God in three persons. Here Paul says that he does one thing – and then he mentions three: he forgets the past, he strains toward the future and he presses on toward the goal. It seems to me that Paul (in this quasi-trinitarian view of how to live a good Christian life) has a lot to teach us.

 

     Paul suggests first that we are to forget “what is behind.” Or, you might say “let go of the past.” I know a lot of Christians who have trouble doing that. They won't let go of the past. They won't move on. They harbour anger and bitterness; they remember every hurt that's ever been inflicted upon them and they're not shy about telling people that they remember every hurt that's ever been inflicted upon them. There are Christians who are lost in grief. They've lost someone or something precious to them, and they're unable to move on from the pain and sorrow. Tears are their constant companion. Sadness is their ever present reality. They yearn to get back what they had, but it's impossible and life becomes a pit of despair. Or some Christians are stuck in guilt. They remember all the ways they've failed God and all the way they've hurt others, and they won't forgive themselves. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't learn lessons from our mistakes and commit ourselves to not making them again, there does come a point when we have to forget them at least in the sense of not letting them burden us with guilt or shame. And I know a lot of Christians who are very bad at doing that. Christians who are awash in guilt. But this isn't the way for a so-called good Christian person. Christians let go of the past. They don't forget the past. Paul didn't say we should forget the past. He said we should let it go; we should free ourselves from the bondage the past can hold us in. In this we have the example of God the Father: who forgives us by grace and who doesn't hold the past against us, but allows every day to be a new start. So if we want to be this so-called “good Christian person” - perhaps we start by letting go of the past and simply starting anew, not harbouring bitterness or anger; not awash in guilt; simply freed to love and serve God and to love and serve others.

 

     Paul suggests second that we are to strain “toward what is ahead.” Letting go of the past isn't enough. Letting go of anger or bitterness or guilt isn't enough. If all we do is let go of the problems of the past then we can too easily fall into disinterest and spiritual laziness. Every day we can just say, “well, yesterday was yesterday, and tomorrow today will be yesterday, and I'll just be able to set it aside.” But being a good Christian person requires more than that. It requires us not to stand still as we are in the knowledge and hope that God sets aside our past, it requires us to step boldly into the future and seek the change that God wants to bring about within us and strive for the change that God wants to see in the world around us. God doesn't want us to simply rest in the knowledge that God has given us a new start. That could too easily lead to spiritual laziness, and spiritual laziness has all sorts of unfortunate consequences and Paul warns against that in 2 Thessalonians, another of his letters: “We hear that some among you are idle,” he wrote. “They are not busy, they are busybodies.” If we're not about the business of Christ, then we're going to be inserting ourselves into the business of others and, frankly, nothing much productive ever comes from that. In this we have the example of God the Son. Christ was never a busybody. He was never idle. Even when he withdrew and took time away from the crowds, he wasn't idle. He used that down time to nurture his relationship with his Father. And he always strove toward what was ahead, even if what was ahead was unpleasant, such as his resolve to go to Jerusalem even when he knew that going to Jerusalem would mean his death. So if we want to be this so-called “good Christian person” - perhaps we have to move boldly forward, doing the work and sharing the ministry of Christ that he entrusted to us.

 

     The third thing that Paul suggests is that we should “press on toward the goal ...” If I'm reading Paul right what he means is that we should be living out our faith. Pressing on toward the goal is to essentially say that we need to have faith – faith in our belief that God will never abandon us, but will always hold us close no matter what this future that we're moving into holds for us. Sometimes the future can be a frightening thing. From day to day we don't know what the future holds. None of us know for sure what's going to happen even five minutes from now. On the other hand, if you look at the future from a long term perspective, I guess the truth is that we all know what the future holds, but generally speaking we prefer not to think about it. But pressing on toward the goal means that neither the uncertainty of how the future will unfold or the certainty of what the future holds should hold us back in faith. We are promised eternity. We are promised a life that will not end. Exactly how that comes about and exactly what that looks like is a detail I feel very comfortable leaving to God. I simply know these things. My faith tells me that; I believe it.  In this, we have the help of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Counsellor and the Teacher, who constantly reminds us of the hope we have. The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into all things and who ensures that the presence of God is never far away from us and that the promises of God are certain.

 

     I think back to the person who asked, “What are the qualities of a good Christian person?” It seems to me that Paul did a pretty good job of explaining 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.” The one thing he does is to have hope in all circumstances; one hope existing in three ways: hope that the past is set aside no matter what it held, hope that the future can be bright no matter what it may hold and hope that our goal is the eternity God promises to us. It's all about hope. As Psalm 62 says, “my hope is in God ...” I hope we can all say that.