Forget It!

I love the whimsy of the Holy Spirit.

I love the unfathomable breadth of the Bible.

And I love to listen to great preaching.

So yesterday I was listening to some great preaching from my friend Adam Norsworthy at Versailles Baptist Church. He was taking us on a tour through the depths of Philippians 3:12-14. 

Adam was challenging us to let go of our past--those things we've done that we're ashamed of--due to Paul's words in verse 13: "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." This is hard, isn't it? To be free from the bondage of our past sin? Adam used both Paul's story and a stunning image from the classic novel, The Scarlet Letter. I was really engaged by Adam. He's a very good communicator.

And then the whimsical Spirit took me someplace very different inside that verse.

As essential as it is that we forget the past, I was convinced that part of what God whispered to me included forgetting my successes as well as my failures. You see I can get so puffed up by past success that I can forget my need to fully rely on God.

And with that same sense of whimsy, I sensed the Spirit whisper to me that this is a danger for many of us as we yearn for the golden days of yesteryear. Maybe, my friends, it is just as essential to forget our successes as it is our failures. 

Indeed, I wonder if only then might it be possible to "press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize." 

What do you think?