06/25/2026
SOME THOUGHTS ON MOVING FORWARD IN FAITH
We can sometimes become slaves to the past.
Some people I know carry the baggage of bad life experiences—things we’ve said or done ourselves or things others have said about and done to us—and we carry these experiences like a trophy that boasts of our survival skills. The reality is the opposite is actually true—the baggage we carry weighs us down and fouls our souls.
Then there are those I know who live their lives looking back at the past. The present seems to be filled with trouble—and they yearn for the good old days when life was easier, and they knew more joy or success. Their reality is the good old days ("g.o.d.") become an idol that prevents them from embracing the life of grace offered to all of us.
Paul could have easily dwelled on the hardship he’d experienced or yearned for the life he once knew—instead, he wrote a profound sentence in his letter to the Philippians for those who are slaves to their past:
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14).
Paul had two priorities as he raced toward heaven: forgetting the past and straining toward the future. He didn’t dwell on former achievements or failures. He kept his eyes on the finish line and pressed on with all his might.
You might be tempted to rest if you’ve ever done something good for God—as though you've done enough. And if you’ve ever done something terrible, you might be tempted to dwell on it. But neither is worth the time, and both must be forgotten to press on.
God remembers our good deeds, so we don’t have to keep track of them. And He forgets our sins, so we can forget them, too. In the letter to the Hebrews, God says:
“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).
Like Paul, we too can forget about the past and strain toward the future as we approach the finish line.
Move forward, my friends!
Bishop Jeff Greenway
