Forgetting What’s Behind

by Jonathon Wright

“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, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV).

In the first part of this chapter, Paul talks about his old way of life, his days when he was a Pharisee and keeper of the law. The days when he persecuted the church. Paul used to think a relationship with God meant

keeping all the rules and relying on his strength alone. Now he knew Christ and His power to change a person’s life. Because of this, his former way of life does not begin to compare with his new life in Christ. His former life was rubbish when compared to knowing Christ. And he had a long list of credentials. Paul wanted to encourage the Philippian church and those struggling against Jewish influences. These influences were trying to nullify and put down their Christian faith. He told them to beware of those dogs. Paul knew what he was talking about because he was one before he met Christ.

Paul also expresses his deep desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. In other places, Paul describes this power as being able to do above and beyond anything we ask, think, or imagine. See Ephesians 3:20. Paul wanted to see God’s power in his life and the church. He also wanted to follow God in times of suffering like Christ. Paul wanted to be faithful to the end. He wanted to be perfect but was not. But he did this one thing. The fact that the apostle Paul singles out this one thing makes it very important. He forgot those things in the past and continued to press forward in his goal to be more like Christ. He wanted to put the past behind him. There was a time in my life when I greatly struggled in a particular area. God’s word in Isaiah 54:4 told me that I should forget the shame of my youth. Something about that passage just gave me peace. It helped me to move forward in my Christian life. And eventually, I was able to overcome it. Paul struggled with similar feelings about his past. He even called himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). However, Paul understood that we are powerless to change mistakes in our past. We can try to learn from them and make things better. But at the end of the day, we need God’s forgiveness and mercy, found at the cross. We need to start each day by forgetting the past. When we do this, it helps us make the most of our today. We place our trust in the promise of Christ and keep moving forward to become the people God wants us to be, which helps us move toward spiritual maturity and more success in life.

About The Author

Jonathon Wright currently lives in Cleveland, Tennessee, and has been a member of the Church of God for about twenty years. He is a graduate of Lee University and Beacon University where he earned a BA and MA in Biblical Studies. He loves studying the Bible and has done so for over thirty years, but only now has God given him a desire and the opportunity to be a writer. Jonathon hopes to encourage people to read the Bible and take notes. You can find more from Jonathon at amazon.com/author/everydaynotes.