Forget the Past, Press Towards the Goal

[dddoo7]

The past can sometimes be a scary thought. The past is often full of mistakes and is almost never as pretty and clean as we would like it to be. It can be easy to dwell on the past and let it overwhelm us to the point that it hinders our forward progress as a Christian.

We must remember that the past is who we were...not who we are. In Christ we are washed, sanctified, and justified by the authority of Jesus and the spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). We know that His sacrifice is sufficient and that through His power we are no longer defined by our sins, but rather by the fact that we belong to Him. We are no longer defined by our imperfections and our tainted and scarred past, but we are defined by His perfection.

In Philippians 3 Paul tells the Christians that he serves God striving to attain the resurrection from the dead. Then Paul very quickly tells them that he has not already attained this and that he has not made it on his own, but because Jesus Christ has made Paul His own. Paul then reveals the necessary mindset for Christians to have. Paul says, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining 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).

Let us as Christians never be destroyed, torn down, or held back by our past. One of the most amazing gifts that God has given us in Christ is the ability to forget our past sins, mistakes, and errors and move forward in spite of the past. One of the greatest blessings we have in Christ is that He is able to use us and work wonderful things through us in spite of our past. Let us as Christians have faith in the power of the sacrifice of Christ. Let us trust that we are His and press on to the goal.

Philippians 3:7-16, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”