Philippians 3:13b

"but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,"

In my pursuit of holiness there are primarily two things I can forget about in the past because they were mortified when Jesus hung on the "tree". One was all of my vain efforts to put myself in a right stead with God. No question Paul was referring to this when he wrote because he makes earlier reference to all of his earthly accomplishments as something that might have earned him a position with God, if such were ever attainable. Of all people for goodness sake, Paul was a chief among the Jews. But he refers to his past successes as rubbish; in fact, the word he uses is much more foul than this. (cf. Philippians 3:8) These types of things in my own past are easy for me to let go of. I'm over thinking they were lofty or worthy achievements of any sort.

But the other thing I can forget about is my past sins. They, too, were nailed to the cross never to be released or counted against me again. And while God has forgotten them (cf. Jeremiah 31:34), I have not; it's difficult to let them go. Wasted opportunities, hurtful comments, neglectful duties, undisciplined restraint, and selfish ambitions; these all have vanished in the mind of my Lord as if they never happened. However, I let them haunt me every once in awhile. This is not from God, but the enemy. And every time I let them intrude into my sphere of consciousness they begin to weigh me down and slow my progress. Paul reaches forward, and so must I. How? Seeing the face and eyes of Jesus (cf. Hebrews 12:2) instead of regressing by looking over my shoulder at what once was. I cannot glance back any longer (a fundamental principle of any runner); it's of no helpful gain whatsoever and it's over. Today I look ahead at what is and what shall be. The victory is already achieved (cf. I Corinthians 15:57) even though I haven't crossed the finish line.