“Do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19 “…forgetting those things which are behind…”

— Philippians 3:13

I am sure that Christians must get confused when they read a verse like this. Paul says, “This is what I do, I forget those things which are behind.” And yet I have preached sermons on a number of occasions on “remember.” Jesus said, “Remember Me.” We are told over and over again in the Bible to remember.

Are we to forget or are we to remember? Well, obviously we are to do both, and the question is: What are the objects of the verbs, remember and forget? There are certainly things that we are to remember. We are to remember what Jesus Christ has done for us upon the Cross.

The things that Paul is talking about forgetting would be of two classes. Just like a runner or skater skating for 1500 yards, they have to forget their successes or failures in a hurry and not sit back and rest upon those laurels.

I think it is particularly true that as they get older people begin to rest more and more on their laurels and stretch less and less toward the prize, the mark of the high calling of God. We need to forget about our victories and not simply float on them, but to reach out to the things that yet remain to be done. Nor should our past failures weigh us down.

Let us thank God for what He has done in the past, as we strive to serve Him in the present and future.

My Lord and Savior, thank You for what you have done for me. Help me to not be a prisoner of the past with its failures or its victories…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE ARE
ABLE TO STRETCH FORWARD.