12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Our lives should ideally reflect the fruit of our knowledge of God. We are not called to stand still and certainly not regress in our Christian life. If we tolerate bad habits or errant thought patterns, we run the risk of going backward in our spiritual life. When we find ourselves struggling with specific sins, we should not accommodate them but identify them and seek to walk in Christ's victory, confessing where we have missed the mark, repenting of our sins, and experiencing the restoration of relationship.
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We can look back at our lives and recognize the hand of God upon us and how He has helped us overcome mistakes that we have made. The past doesn't have to hold us captive, and we can be committed to growing in Christ. 1st Corinthians 13 describes the spiritual growth pattern:
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
When actor Chad Michael Murray was younger, in his 20's, he was certainly making a mark in the young adult entertainment genre, starring in the series, One Tree Hill, and appearing in The Gilmore Girls series and the movie, A Cinderella Story. According to a 2020 FoxNews.com story, he told Page Six of the New York Post:
“I look at my photos of myself and think, ‘What a dweeb,'" he confessed. “He thought he was so cool!”
Murray seems to admit he may have been too young to know better, stating:
“Why wouldn’t I? I was 21 years old,” he added. “I’m just a kid from Buffalo, moved out here, took a chance and I fell headfirst into it. I remember in 2005 I was standing in Times Square doing a big ball drop for ‘TRL,’ thousands of people, and you’re the one on stage. It’s a very surreal thing but how do you really decipher where you are in your life at that age? It’s just a passing moment, I think at that age you can give it too much value.
He's 40 now and apparently has learned a few things. In a FoxNews.com article out this week, he says: "I stick to the things I believe in," adding, "Let's just say a piece of material were to come across my desk, which has happened plenty of times over the last 22 years, that I don't necessarily feel is what I believe or what I'm selling — then that's not for me."
And, he admits that he starts his day with some important practices, "I get up every day and I put that spiritual armor on, read the Bible and do some devotionals and then get ready to go to work..." Murray adds, "I feel stronger and safer walking onto my sets every day knowing that I have God with me every day. Jesus is there with me every day," he said before adding, "When you have that comfort that you just feel safe, you feel different, you feel the opportunity to handle more, your shoulders are bigger, you can carry more weight."Chad is also intent on passing along his faith to the two young children he and his wife, Sarah Roemer, have; he related in the 2020 Page Six story: "We pray at every meal...That’s one of the foundations of teaching a good moral compass in our children. Having the fear of God is vital because to be honest what do you have to lose if you have no fear of that. If you have no fear of God it would be chaos here. We read the Bible, I start the day reading a chapter. We teach the kids about Jesus and who Jesus was and the story and we do church on Sundays."
How do you start the day? Do you go into the situations you will face knowing that God is with you and dependent on Christ? I think it's so important that we gain and maintain our focus on the the Lord as we begin the day. We will likely make scores of decisions every single day - we need the wisdom of the Spirit.
Murray's story can also call attention to the importance of learning from the mistakes you made and the wrong attitudes you possessed. I am reminded of MercyMe's song, Dear Younger Me, in which lead singer Bart Millard reflects on what he would say to his younger self and relates what God has taught him. It's also, in a sense, a word of exhortation for those who are younger than he to recognize the importance of a walk with God and recognize who He has intended for us to be. We can also recognize the forgiveness that is available for the wrong choices we have made, so that we can be free from shame and discouragement.
Chad Michael Murray talks about his devotion to teach and model his faith in Christ to his children. We can each ask ourselves how well we are modeling who Christ is in the lives of the people around us, including those closest to us.
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