Maxim-ize Your Life
by
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It is written: --forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, --press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”.
This doesn’t require an actual erasure of memory, or an act of denial. It forbids us to live with the guilt of prior failures. The shame for previous actions is cleansed from our consciences by the blood of Christ[1]. Intellectual memory may be retained, but we should no longer experience the guilt; it should be forgotten. These things are not in the past, but are “behind” us, indicating a need for proper perspective. Our focus should be in the opposite direction.
Not only should we be forward-looking, we should also be forward “reaching”. This presupposes our abilities to reach. It also indicates those things are actually within our grasp, and commands us to actively participate in making them happen. Further, the things we reach for are “before” us – not in front of us. This contrast from “behind’ to “before” indicates a need for merging our focal perspective with our orientation in time. We should reach for things that “are” – in other words, they already exist in the ideal sense, but not in our present reality. It is our task to reach out and bring the ideal into the real.
The writer further instructs us to “press toward the mark”. A mark is a clearly designated goal. The mark is the actual mission or calling God has assigned for each of us to perform in His master plan. To press indicates that we should encounter obstacles with enough pressure to continue on without loss of forward momentum. It indicates a resolve to finish our journey in a timely fashion. We should not float stagnantly in time.
Forget yesterday because it’s only a memory. Reach for tomorrow because it’s where you’ll spend the rest of your life. Do it today because there’s no other time to do it. Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
Phillipians 3:13-14 Romans 10:11; Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 10:22
Cf. Matthew 6:10
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About the Book
The Bible contains analogies, allegories, proverbs,
and other figurative expressions. Christ taught the common people in parables,
relating to them in their own lingo. So also, Maxim-ize Your Life uses
modem-day paraphrases to teach timeless truths. Drawn from traditional folklore
and conventional wisdom, these maxims are
examined in the light of Scripture, and confirmed, denied, or qualified.
Aside from the Bible the author allowed himself only
three types of reading while serving ten years in prison: inspirational,
classical, and self-help. These helped establish a communion with modern faith;
an awareness of common sense, moral, and philosophical concepts that have
shaped history; and an insight into personal development, motivational, and
psychological concepts. Afterward, he earned a BS in Adult Education and an MS
in Counseling and Human Development, while also working for a decade as a
correctional educator and offender minister.
These influences are merged into Maxim-ize
Your Life, a literary companion for the armchair or bedside table,
which is easily read, and will be for generations. Maxim-ize Your Life is
suitable for lectures, sermons, seminars, and/or serial Bible studies. A
suitable gift for all occasions, Maxim-ize Your Life illustrates that
the Bible is the ultimate self-help book
About the Author
Frank is a correctional educator, lay minister,
Certified Lay Speaker, and member of First United Methodist Church, Millbrook,
AL.
Frank was a high school dropout, but earned a GED.
He chased the proverbial "drugs sex and rock-n-roll” subculture, & his
ways deteriorated. In 1982, Frank was imprisoned for ten years.
Personally encountering the Living Spirit of Jesus
Christ, Frank found new direction. Released in 1992, he began working with JFI
Tech, the prison college he’d attended, and also founded Clemency, an
independent Christian organization. He serves in jails, prisons, and halfway
houses, and speaks, teaches, and sings at school, church, and civic functions.
He later earned a Master’s in Counseling and Human Development through TSU in
Montgomery.