Looking Forward

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead

Philippians 3:13 (NLT)

The big D taunted me from the bottom of my transcript nearing the end of my junior year in college. It made me cringe every time I saw it and reminded me that mathematics was my Achilles heel. So the summer before graduation I decided to pay the extra money and retake the class so it wouldn't show up on my final transcript.

I’m happy to say, on graduation day the D was the furthest thing on my mind as I walked across the stage. It no longer tormented me. The registrar wiped it off my transcript and replaced it with a higher grade.

Sins from the past can be similar. They can taunt us.  See that mistake you made? Just wait and see, you’re doomed to fail again, they can whisper.  However, God doesn’t want us to live like that.  Psalms 103:12 says, “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

I’m sure Paul had things he regretted. His story in Acts starts out telling how he persecuted Christians, but when Jesus came into his heart, he forgave his sin and even changed his name from Saul to Paul.  He started over with a clean slate.  Paul could have lived his life in shame, feeling guilty about his past sins.  However, in Philipians 3:13 he said “…but I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”

Just like Paul, if we've repented of our sins and have Jesus in our hearts, we can forget the past and look forward to the future.  Isn’t it wonderful?  Jesus paid the price for our sin and wiped it off the transcript of our lives. Some day, when we “graduate” into heaven, it will be the furthest thing from our minds.

Thank you for reading and keep Shining for Him!

*Top photo credit: (Evgeni Dinev) www.freedigitalphotos.net

* Bottom photo: (my photo) J