Forget It

“…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…” Philippians 3: 13.

In considering this theme it is not as though the past counts for nothing. Rather this is a statement about the overall outlook of life. On balance, the future is more important in our thinking than the past. This is not instruction to purge the mind of all memories of the past. It is an appeal to not live in the past, but contrast its insignificance with the present/future. This is not advising a memory wipe; it is telling us to focus on the present and the future, rather than the past. Don’t let the past hang over you like a shroud.

We must refuse to allow past successes to inflate our ego. We must not allow past failures to deflate our self-worth. We leave it behind and instead adopt our new identity in Christ. Focus instead on the “upward calling.”

A runner who leads in a race must concentrate on what is before, not the competitors and distance behind.  Paul had balance.  He remembered the good (Philippians 1:3) and put behind him that which would hinder. Remember “The load of tomorrow added to that of yesterday, and carried today, makes the strongest falter.”

A distance runner never considers the laps run, only what is ahead. That must be our preoccupation. Keep focused on what is yet to be done and do it.

In overcoming the hurdles in our lives we need to consider Olympic hurdlers. They do not allow themselves a split second to think of a hurdle they just knocked over, they focus on the next one to jump. We must divert our attention from past failures and direct it to the next challenge. The past can motivate us in our approach to the next, but it must not retain our attention.

Paul had been cleared by the courts of heaven and though he didn’t forget the lessons learned, he did not dwell on the past.  We break the power of the past by living in the present for the good of the future. Time flows from the future to the present and very fast into the past, therefore use it wisely.

In putting aside any bond to the past we are to press toward, that is, fulfilling our role regarding the “high calling.” It is God’s calling of us to Himself and our optimum in service.

An athletic metaphor is used in the text to emphasize the extent of pressing. It depicts an athlete approaching the finishing line. The image is of the runner engaging in all “stretchoutedness.” He leans forward, every muscle is tense, his nostrils are strutted begging for air, and his eyes are on the prize. It means to go all out in every effort to please the Lord.

Now, forget anything in your past, good or bad, the memory of which keeps you from pressing on for the Lord in the future.