Forget It!

Good morning.

All of us have a past. We’ve done things we regret and would like to forget. Sometimes we cringe as we think back of the embarrassing, ridiculous things we’ve done. This often makes us feel unworthy – how can such a fool as I help other people, lead others to the Lord. What would they think of someone like me?

Satan, the accuser of the brothers as he is called in Revelation 12:10, will make it his business to accuse you of your past and we need to resist him as we do with all other temptations. We can get a good idea of how he works when we look at bullies in action. “Ha, ha loser, you think you are so and so, but you are just a piece of dirt. Look what you’ve done and now you want to be cool!” When this low class creep tries to bully you and make you feel worthless, pick up the Bible and read in e.g. Psalm 139 what the King of kings thinks of you. “For You have possessed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are marvellous and my soul knows it very well,” (Psalm 139:13, 14).

But it still happens; we still make mistakes and still feel like fools. We do sin and then consider ourselves unworthy. Satan uses this to encourage us to give up. It’s much easier to live a mediocre, non-challenging Christian life, than to always feel guilty when we made a mistake in our pursuit to be like Jesus and to make a difference in this world, with the view to build God’s Kingdom. In Philippians 3 Pauls told of his ambition to be like Jesus and the battle he had to fight in reaching that dream. Then he said in verses 12 to 14: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

The enemy of our souls will try and stop us to become like Jesus. He uses crafty techniques to make us only passive followers of men and religion in various ways. If we dare to stand out and become active, he will accuse us and make us feel guilty about our weaknesses, so we can give up and become passive. Our sins are forgiven. If we confess it a thousand times a day, it is forgiven every time, but every time we will be accused. I’ve had to learn to forget what is behind, also what happened seconds ago, for if I ponder about it I waste precious time I could have used to pray, witness, worship and do whatever is needed to become like Jesus.

Jesus had a hard time; the apostles had a hard time. You only need to read Hebrews 11 and 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 to see the cost of becoming like Jesus through faith. The persecuted church has it hard. Why should we have it easy?

But the end is sweet. Paul said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing,” (2 Timothy 4:7, 8).

Lord, I want to be like Jesus at all cost!

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