Remembering the Past

Philippians 3:13-14

“Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken 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, NASB 2020)

Forgetting what lies behind.
Paul knew something about how hard that can be.
He knew that the enemy loves to remind us of our past and our failures.
Paul’s past was that of a Pharisee. The group Jesus called whitewashed tombs and hypocrites, and a brood of vipers.
He was zealous to persecute the Church.
He stood by while Stephen was stoned to death.

Father does not remember such things about us.
Neither should we.

Saints,
Let’s remind ourselves that every ungodly thing has been forever expunged from us.
Let’s recall that we stand righteous, holy, and blameless.
Let’s praise God because all our ugly wickedness was taken away by our lovely Lord Jesus.
Let’s glorify the Lord because we are no longer in bondage to the ruler of this world.
Let’s celebrate that we are light in this dark place, ambassadors of Christ Jesus.