"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)
I have heard these words before: "The past is a nice place to visit, but certainly not a good place to stay.”
The Apostle Paul writes about his past prior to these verses (Philippians 3:1-11).
After looking at all that he was, and all that he had accomplished, he came to the conclusion that all of it was as "rubbish" compared to his relationship to Jesus Christ.
It can be something in our past that we regretted leaving behind, or something in our past that was so troubling that we can't forget it, and let it go. We can be gripped by our past so strongly, that we cannot move forward.
Well Paul found the answer, and that answer was the Lord Jesus Christ. The upward call of God is to be our pursuit as well as it was his. Forgetting those things which are behind, we reach forward to those things which are ahead. We press on to a goal, which is knowing Jesus Christ and His will for our lives, here and now, and for the future.
It is all found in Jesus Christ. The events of the past was then. What does the Lord Jesus Christ want for us now? When He reveals His will to us (and He will) we need to head towards it, with all of our heart. That's how we can get past, our past! GP
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