Forgetting

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on. Philippians 3:13,14 NIV

Easier said than done, isn’t it? Forgetting a bad turn, or something bad which has happened to you at the hands of a one time friend, is almost impossible, if not actually impossible. Paul’s advice is that when we really want to get ahead and win the heavenly prize, there are things we need to forget.

We know that God forgets our sins when we come to Him in repentance, and not only does He forgive us, He actually forgets that we had ever sinned in the first place. That is grace indeed, and from a merciful but yet our eternal judge. But this verse is for us, not to rely on our past achievements, or let our past sins get in the way of our target. The past is where it belongs, and now we have our present time to mould into our new God given future.

When the Olympic athletes of any discipline want to do their best to get that elusive gold medal, they must put the last result behind them because they can be a distraction. Even a good result can give a false sense of security, and a bad result is a negative influence, and can put them on a downward spiral. We are no different as we strive for our heavenly goal. It’s not enough to have done well in the past. We are urged to ‘forget’ it and work for our future in the only time we have, the here and now!

There are many things in our lives we wish we could forget, and cannot, but we must let God deal with them as only He can, and we must be free to focus on the really important things. Like getting to heaven. I well remember an old saint telling Margaret and me, “..don’t let anything, or anyone stop you from getting to heaven”. Thanks Andy P Snr, I haven’t forgotten your words, or the lesson from Paul. See you someday! Meantime, let us all do some serious ‘forgetting’!