“We should have won that ball game! It was rigged and everybody knew it.” The high school had lost a championship because of a bad call, and the player who was saying these things wasn’t about to forget it. He was perturbed. The only problem was that he was now fifty years old, and the school did not even exist anymore.

Are any of us still carrying some old moldy feelings? Learning to forget what is behind can be the most liberating experience that we can know. It is also something that the Holy Spirit makes possible for every believer.

When we hear the text above, it is natural to think about all those negative things that we need to let go of (old hurt feelings, guilt, and failures). Those are not the only things that we need to leave behind.

The context of the scripture needs our attention. When Paul is saying that he is forgetting what is behind, he is referring to his successes. He refused to allow a lifetime of achievement to give him the false security that he had earned favor with God.

All of life’s trophies and all the seats of honor could not begin to compare with what he had found in Jesus. He was determined to press on for whatever Christ had in store; and the past would not be a ball and chain to him.

Our greatest opportunity to boast is what Christ achieved through His death and resurrection. Our greatest hope is in what lies ahead. So, what do we do today? We forget and we press on!