See the previous articles in this series:
“Press on Toward the Goal”
“Why Did Paul Press On?”
In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul exhorts Christians to press on toward the goal of becoming like Jesus with a single-minded focus. In Philippians 3:13-16, he tells us that a key way we pursue this is by forgetting what lies behind in and straining forward. Let’s break down this text to explore what that looks like in practice.
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.” Paul reiterates that he has not arrived yet on the journey of Christlikeness. As Paul is honestly evaluating his life, and he knows that he is not perfect yet.
“But one thing I do.” In his pursuit of Christlikeness, he has a single-minded focus. He doesn’t dwell on the past and he focuses on the future.
“Forgetting what lies behind.” When Paul talks about forgetting what lies behind, he’s not talking about short term memory loss.
Short-Term Memory Loss?
Have you ever seen the movie Finding Nemo? Remember the fish named Dory who forgets everything every five minutes? You can be talking to her and by the end of the conversation, she wouldn’t remember the beginning of the conversation. That’s not really what Paul is talking about. The word Paul uses for “forgetting” means “neglecting” or “overlooking.” As Christians, we obviously remember our past—we don’t have our memories erased when we get saved. However, we can choose to not dwell on the past. We can choose to not let it define us. We can choose to not let it become a hindrance.
It can be easy to get stuck in the past. Nostalgia is huge right now in pop culture. Collecting vinyl albums is popular again. TV shows about the 80s are popular. Remakes of movies or TV shows from the 80s and 90s are popular. I fall into this trap myself. My family is tired of hearing my Spotify playlists from the late 90s.
Paul is obviously not talking about pop culture when he’s talking about forgetting the past. He’s talking about past life experiences that could overwhelm your focus. These could be bad experiences or good experiences. This could be past failures or mistakes. Past regrets. Past trials you’ve gone through. Past heartbreak. Major sin that you’ve fallen into. Past traumatic events that haunt you. Horrible things that other people have done to you. There are things that can be defining moments in life that many people never get over. These are the things that you think about at night when you can’t sleep. Even if they took place years ago, the wound is still raw and hurts like it happened yesterday.
Paul certainly had negative things in his past that haunted him. Before he was saved, Paul persecuted Christians. He actively sought to put them to death. He voted for their executions. He stood by and cheered at the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Who knows how many people’s lives Paul ruined because they named the name of Christ. Even though that was a painful wound from his past, he didn’t let that paralyze him. He could never forget those experiences, but he chose not to dwell on them. Why? Because he was a new creation in Christ. He had repented of those sins and he was forgiven in Christ. Dwelling on them would distract him from pursuing Christlikeness and pressing on in the Lord. As Paul was writing this letter, he was under house arrest in Rome after being falsely accused of something he didn’t do. He was chained to a Roman guard 24/7. He could have dwelt on that severe trial and given up. However, he didn’t. He knew that God uses trials as a means of refining us and making us more like Jesus. He focused on his joy in Christ, and he was going to press on.
Don’t Be Defined By Negative or Positive Past Experiences
It’s not just negative experiences that can define us and get in the way of the pursuit of Christlikeness. Letting past positive experiences define us and become our focus can also be a hindrance. This could be success in your education – a prestigious school you went to or your GPA. It could be the family you were born into. It could be your success in your job – the company you work for, your title, and how much money you make. It could be all of your service at the church and your reputation with other Christians. These are things that can come to define you.
Paul certainly had those as well. Think of his accomplishments. In a previous article, we looked at how he rose through the ranks of the religious elites of Judaism. He was considered the best of the best and had an impeccable religious resume. He certainly changed his mind about the value of those accolades after he came to Christ. But even after he came to Christ, think of all he did to spread the gospel throughout the world. He went on many missionary journeys and founded many churches. He brought countless people to Christ through sharing the gospel. He wrote many books of the Bible. He had seen the risen Christ. He had been given revelation directly from the Lord and was taken up into heaven. Despite all of those accomplishments and privileges, he didn’t rest on his laurels and coast.
That applies to us as well—don’t let your past failures or trauma define you. Don’t let the sin of other people against you define you. Don’t let past heartbreak define you. Don’t let it weigh you down. Let your relationship with Jesus define you. You are free in Christ. Press forward in him. Similarly, don’t let your past successes make you complacent. Don’t let your past service to the Lord cause you to coast.
Paul pursues Christlikeness with all he has. He is straining forward, stretching out, and reaching forth toward the goal. He is doing this with intensity, like an athlete in a dead heat in a race stretching out their body in a photo finish. This reminds me of a swimming event from the 2012 Beijing Olympics. In the 100-meter butterfly race, Michael Phelps was trailing behind Serbia’s Milorad Cavic. With a commanding lead, Cavic started gliding to the finish line to touch the wall. In a last-ditch effort, Phelps strained his whole body forward and thrust his hands out as hard as he could and beat Cavic by .01 seconds. It was so close, they had to review the tape to even tell the difference. That full body strain to win is what Paul is talking about.
And remember, Paul is straining not to earn his salvation. (See the previous article in this series.) However, because he is already saved, he can serve the Lord with a single-minded devotion because he is eternally secure in Christ.