Forgiven And Forgotten

“Think you’re the only one that’s made mistakes? Hardly. Imagine if you had been the president of a Michigan bank who advised Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in the new motor company, assuring him, “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty.” Or there was Gary Cooper’s comment about Clark Gable accepting the role of Rhett Butler which he had turned down: “‘Gone With the Wind’ is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history. I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling flat on his face and not Gary Cooper.” Or the Boston sportswriter who summed up young Ted Williams by saying, “I don’t believe this kid will ever hit half a singer midget’s weight in a bathing suit.” Whatever that meant, he was most certainly wrong! We all make mistakes, including the experts. The key is not to live in the mistakes of the past, but to move forward, learning from those mistakes” (preaching.com).

The apostle Paul certainly had every reason to feel trapped by the mistakes of his past. How it must have pained him to recall his earlier history of violent opposition to the followers of Jesus! (Acts 26:9-11). When he wrote to the church in Corinth, he said: “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9).

How do you deal with that kind of regret? Only by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul learned that he had to let go of his past mistakes as well as  his past accomplishments to be able to move on. “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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13–14). Forgiven and forgotten. Our mistakes no longer define us! Praise God!

God loves you!

Mike