Have you ever been putting a puzzle together, you’re most of the way done and you run into that one piece that you can’t seem to find where it goes? You don’t trash the project over this. You’ve done the work to get where you are, you don’t abandon it now. You work on it until it’s all together.
Peter receives the Holy Ghost in Acts chapter 2. He then preaches the message that leads over 3,000 people to Jesus. He goes to Samaria with John in Acts 8 to pray that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Ghost and they did. Then Peter preaches the message when the Holy Ghost is poured out on the Gentiles in Acts 10. So Peter was highly involved in the church. So you’d think he had it altogether right? Yet approximately 23 years later we see Peter getting rebuked by Paul for what he was doing wrong in Galatians 2.
What about Paul? He was persecuting the church and Jesus gave him grace. Jesus instead of writing him off saves him and then calls him to preach the gospel. Paul wrote most of the books of the New Testament and talked about grace in every one of them. Paul understood grace. He pairs with Barnabas who brings Paul to the Apostles. Paul and Barnabas had about a 3 year long ministry together. You’d think Paul had it altogether right? Yet Paul has a problem with John Mark. So much of a problem that he and Barnabas part ways. This was approximately 11 years after Paul’s conversion.
Why am I talking about Peter and Paul and their failures? Why does the amount of years matter?
Because I want you to see that nobody has it altogether. We are all human and we all struggle, we all mess up and we all fall. The Word says for though a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again…(Proverbs 24:16 ISV). You see you may fall, but there’s the key, get back up. You see years after beginning to follow Jesus, years into their ministries, Peter and Paul were still fighting their flesh. They were still struggling with some things. They were striving to do right, but look at what Paul had to say. Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before (Philippians 3:12-13 WEB). He admits that he has not obtained perfection, but he’s striving. Then he says he forgets those things that are behind. When you fall, get up, move forward and forget about it. Don’t keep going back and rehashing it. Don’t go back and dwell on it. Don’t beat yourself up and begin to downgrade yourself like you’re the only one that ever falls. We all fall. Don’t single yourself out and attack yourself. Don’t you think Jesus knew you’d mess up before you ever came to Him? He forgave you then and He will forgive you now. Don’t you know that even the best fruit tree growing and producing fruit has flaws?
I’ll leave you with this story that I heard about Neil Armstrong and crew. When headed to the moon they were only on course 10% of the time. The other 90% was spent in course correction. In their travel from the earthly to the heavenly they were only on course 10% of the time, but they landed successfully. We may spend most of our time correcting our course. When you mess up just correct your course and keep moving towards the end goal.
Philippians 3:14 NET with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
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