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Forgetting and Remembering (Philippians 3:12-16)
I knew a man who never laid great store by the celebration of a
New Year. To him it was "just another day. The hands of the clock
will move past midnight, as they do every other night of the year,
and one day will have passed while another will have begun." Being
a callow youth I was impressed by this novel idea, but then the
young are always impressed with novelty. As an older man I realise
that he was probably just being clever and enjoying my admiring
him for what I took to be his profound wisdom and insight. I have
since come to realise that marking such occasions can be very important
for people. A time to take stock perhaps, count our blessings and
measure our resolve.
Paul's words in this text seem made for such times and I am sure
many preachers will have used it this Sunday to encourage their
congregations to, "Forget what is behind
[and] press on towards the goal".
Paul frankly confesses that he has not already obtained all that
Christ has for him (v.12); that there is a prize yet to be won (v.14);
that some will see things differently, i.e. that doctrinal harmony,
the touchstone of so many Christians' thinking, is not always possible
(v.15) Nevertheless, Paul's advice is, "Press
on!"
Moving forward inevitably involves looking where you are going (as
I sometimes have to remind my little grandson). Paul urges us to
forget what is behind but he doesn't mean that we should altogether
forget our past. Indeed, he has just been to a lot of trouble to
recall his own past in order to illustrate his point (v.v.4-6).
He means that conscious decision to leave our past behind us and
not bring it with us into our new life. Paul relates a past in which
he depended entirely on his zeal with regard to the law and legalistic
righteousness. More generally, he reminds us in another letter that
we all have a past:
"As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sin, in which you used to live when you followed
the ways of this world...But because of his great love for us, God,
who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were
dead in our transgressions..." (Eph.2:1-5)
That was then - this is now. That was what we were, following the
ways of this world, but no more. As we count our blessings a good
place to start is to consider what we once were and how we have
left all that behind. To say, "I am not what I should be, nor yet
all that I might be, but by God's grace I am not what I was". With
such a view we might confidently leave behind our past ways and
press on towards the goal. Such forgetting is healthy and life building.
There is another kind of forgetting, however, that we must avoid
at all costs. It is forgetting what we have already attained. Paul
describes our pressing on as being built on a life devoted to living
up to what we have already attained (v.16). I started by talking
about novelty and it is a sad fact that novelty sometimes enslaves
Christians to the extent that we forget to be faithful in what we
already have in Christ. God holds us responsible for the truth we
already possess and Paul is anxious that we should live up to it.
He has already mentioned this:
"Therefore, my friends, as you have
always obeyed - not only in my presence, but much more in my absence
- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good
purpose" (2:12-13)
"Therefore", meaning in light of, meaning, in this instance, in
light of all that God has done in Christ, as explained in verse
1-11. Paul does the same earlier still:
"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the
gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear
about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one
spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel" (1:27)
As we look forward to a New Year, may we resolve to live up to what
we have already attained; continue to work out our salvation in
fear and trembling and, whatever happens, may we conduct ourselves
in a manner worthy of the gospel.