Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).
There are some things that we need to forget as we “press forward.
We must forget our resentments. We need to let go of these resentments because they poison our lives. Issues must be resolved. They color our whole perspective of life. Let the new year provide us with an opportunity of both offering forgiveness and seeking forgiveness. Once Peter asked Jesus about the limits of forgiveness and discovered that mercy has no end (Matthew 18:21-35). As Christians you and I have been the recipients of God’s grace and mercy. We have been set free from the power of sin and the guilt that can cripple the spirit. As Christians, we are commanded to be just as gracious and merciful to those who have offended and injured us. In doing so we set them free of their sin against us and we set ourselves free of the bitterness and resentment that clouds our mind and poisons our heart.
We must forget our anxieties. Informed concern is necessary. But many of us have needless anxieties that nag, cripple and crush. Constant anxiety as one’s companion is really a disguised form of atheism, because it is a confession that we do not trust in the care and presence of God (Matthew 6:25-33).
We must forget about our failures. Each of us has known some kind of failure. So many of us focus our lives only on our difficulties, failures, and lost opportunities. Every person of faith has a moment of faithlessness. Abraham, the friend of God, twice gave his wife into adultery. Moses, the great servant of God, was prohibited from the Promised Land because of his disobedience. David, the man after God’s own heart, committed adultery. Peter, the apostle of Pentecost, denied Christ three times. If these persons of faith had focused on their personal failures the history of redemption would be much different. Instead, each of them pressed on!
We must forget our victories and achievements. Sometimes we focus too much on our past victories that we forget that we are victorious because of the power, grace and ministry of God (Romans 8:37). Also, there is the danger of focusing on our achievements so that we begin to think that we have arrived. We no longer press on. This leads to spiritual indifference and then to spiritual death!
As we “press on” there are some things that we must remember.
We must remember our conflict within. Paul said, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish” (Romans 7:18f). We all have to confess that sometimes we do good and sometimes we do evil. Each of us is sinful. Sometimes we sin because of deliberate rebellion. Sometimes we sin because of omission (James 4:17). We should remember our nature because it reminds us of the continuing grace of God. We need to be constantly aware of His grace, of the strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit, and of the intercession of our High Priest, Jesus Christ.
We must remember the lessons we have learned from our difficulties. It is often said that if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. Our difficulties are important to our Christian faith, for it is in our difficulties that our faith is perfected (Romans 5:3; James 1:2; 1 Peter 1:6). The apostles tell us that in every trial, temptation or tribulation we can have joy because the result will be our ultimate salvation. Paul said, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Ro. 8:28).
Our future is a vast undiscovered country. But it is certain in Christ and we know the ultimate end. It is between the now and the end that seems so threatening. But let us resolve as did Paul to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
