Forgetting the Past

First, I’d like to appreciate everyone that reads this blog, puts up comments, and sends in ‘thank you’ messages. Your response to what I share reminds me every day that this blog is a ‘God idea’. Most importantly, I am appreciative of the person of the HolyGhost that is with me every day; He blessed me through men of God like Rev. Chris Oyakhilome with the information that I now share with you heartily.

“but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” [Philippians 3:13-14]

I think it is good to mention the importance of who we are receiving most of the information on this topic from – the man, Paul. If there’s anyone that ought to know a lot about forgetting the past, it should be Paul. This man, prior to his conversion, not only resisted the gospel vehemently, but he also went forward to arrest many Christians. He was, in a sense, an “enemy of the Christ”. After receiving the gospel, he said in 1 Corinthians 15:8-10, “am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But…his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain.”

Paul had to become confident in the grace of God; in fact, so confident that he is currently regarded as one of the greatest Apostles in the Bible, though he never dined with Jesus. From the opening scripture, we see how he achieved his success – by forgetting the past. Testifying of himself, he said in 2 Corinthians 12:11 “for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing”; he had learned to look beyond his past and embrace God’s grace. That grace is God’s word to you telling you that your past does not count anymore. All these I mentioned so you know that Paul is a worthy instructor in the subject of forgetting the past. With that, here are three points to consider on the matter: 

Old things are passed away. Have you ever been tempted to think that your past is greater than the cross? Do the mistakes of yesterday have you reconsidering the feasibility of success? In 2 Corinthians 5:17, God speaks through the same Apostle Paul saying “therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. Being born again is a big deal! It means that God has forgotten the man you were before you accepted Him. Why? Because that man died together with Christ; that very man was judged on the cross, so you will never have to be judged for those wrongs again. Many of us find it hard to accept this truth, because we live in a world where we pay for everything. “Nothing is ever truly free”, we are encouraged to think. But, remember that God called Abraham righteous because Abraham believed Him. Abraham believed in one of the most physically impossible feats – that God would cause Him to have a child at over hundred years of age with a wife well over menopause. If God was thrilled by Abraham’s response in faith, He will surely be thrilled by yours. Believe God that the past is not an issue, and move on! Until you do this, you will go around in circles, calling God a liar by not accepting His truth. 

God is greater than your conscience. Have you ever found yourself constantly remembering a wrong, even after you have asked God for forgiveness? Religion and the world have taught us that the discomfort we feel after sinning (even after asking for forgiveness for the offence) is the HolyGhost convicting us. But, I have evidence to the contrary. I was elated on the day I found the scripture that I now share with you, taken from 1 John 3:20: “if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart.” Let the word of God that says that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us” be greater than those nagging thoughts of condemnation. Except you want to be God to yourself, you’ve got to accept that it’s okay when He says it’s okay. In Luke 9:62, Jesus made His position on the importance of forgetting the past clear when he said “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” You should never worry about things you did before you became a Christian. In fact, you need not ask for forgiveness for them; accepting Jesus and becoming born again took care of those actions. But, for the wrongs we may now do, it will behoove us to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy.” [Hebrews 4:16] 

The path of the righteous is as a shining light. Solomon highlighted something that ought to get every Christian excited every day in Proverbs 4:18: “but the path of just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day”. We have been made righteous by God through the sacrifice of Jesus. As such, this scripture is describing the mentality that we ought to have. The issue with many of us is that we think our minds and our bodies are us. No! No! A thousand times no! The real you is your spirit – that’s the one that got born again. Your body is your house and your mind is your library of information that you have gathered through mass media over the years. Though God has changed your human spirit, your house and library may remain the same. It is up to you to “be…transformed by the renewing of your mind” [Romans 12:2]. Part of that transformation is expecting that every new day will be better than the last. Endorse that truth in your heart so that no matter what happened yesterday or some minutes ago, you say “my path is as a shining light; I’m getting better.”

Remember that God lives in the NOW! He is I AM, not ‘I was’ or ‘I will be’, but I AM. Though He lives in eternity, God actually dwells in your present – the NOW of your life. He is not ever so concerned about what you did last week or the week before. Paul gives us strong words in Hebrews 12:2 Amplified Version “Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith.” Your past is a distraction that may not want to let you go. Like Paul said in the opening scripture, forget the things that are behind and press on toward the mark. Even your past successes could be a distraction if not approached with the mentality of outdoing them. It is no other person’s responsibility but yours to forget the past.

I am always so blessed by your comments, and I do appreciate them. Please, listen to one of my favorite songs of all time as you bless others [including me] with your comment on the subject. God bless you!