Philippians 3:12-16 – “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:  forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16 however, let us keep living by that same  standard to which we have attained.”  NASU

Many times I’ve heard the saying, “The Past is the Past” as an encouragement to let “bygones be bygones” or “bury the hatchet”, reconcile and move on with life and relationships.  There is great need to refuse to allow the PAST to determine the PRESENT and thereby influence the FUTURE.  However, I do not believe this is an admonition to IGNORE the past rather refuse to allow it to hinder the present.

I think the word translated “forgetting” means “to lose out of mind; by implication, to neglect.”  When the Bible tells us that God has cast our sins, as Micah 7 declares, “…into the depths of the sea” or as we often describe it the SEA OF FORGETFULNESS or FORGETTING.  This does not mean that God no longer has any memory of our past but that He has consciously chosen to not allow that which is forgiven to be used in future considerations.  He has not developed divine amnesia but has made a conscious decision to not allow that which is under the blood (PAST) to be used against us in the future.

If we are to LEARN from our Past how can we do that in the modern understanding of forgetting?  I find that the definition of “forgetting the past” of many in our modern world could be translated “ignore the past”.  I believe the admonition is not the development of “divine amnesia” or to “ignore” but to move beyond, learning the vital lessons but to “press on” or “reach forward” to that which lies ahead.  It is not a matter of pretending that it never happened but to refuse to allow it to remain a part of our present.

We know that we cannot enter God’s Temple with dirty garments or lives and, therefore, the PAST must be put under the Atoning Blood.  However, if we are striving to FORGET as in IGNORE or have NO CONSCIOUSNESS of the past how can, Revelation 2:5 be applied to today?  If we are to follow the directive of Isaiah 46:9 how can we accomplish “remembering former things” and having our faith and confidence in God soar if we adopt the modern idea of “forgetting the past.”

We have a history that is indelibly etched in the annals of time but we must come to the Cross, receive the Atonement and move past the past into the present and reach for our future in Him.  The slate is clean in the sense that WE ARE FORGIVEN.  I had a person call me once, after they had been involved in a fender bender and said, “Pray that this never happened.”  Obviously, that is impossible and so is trying to IGNORE our history.  We forget in that we give the past not place in our present.  We no longer play the video of the past but the lessons learned are invaluable in our present and our pursuit of our future.  Rather than seek to forget as in never having happened we should seek to have it under the Atonement, learn the lessons therein, and refuse to allow the past to control our present and future.

            May the LORD be with you as you go through this day.