Before I forget, a thought on forgiveness

“As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalms 103:12

The problem with the past, good or bad, is we stay in the past and do not take hold of today. We are not looking to the future and the promises of God. When God forgave us in Christ’s redeeming death, He did so unconditionally. Our past, present and future sins were forgiven at that time. 

In time, we walk with the Lord and deal with those present and future sins as they come up. 1 John 1:9; Ps. 51 share with us those principles that keep us in fellowship with God. He forgave us when Christ took on the cross our sins, but He does work with us in the process of sanctification and growing in Christ. 

In Isaiah 43: 18, 19 Gene Getz shares a principle to live by to forget the past. Paul did this in Philippians 3: 13, 14 “forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead”. When we became a Christian “we became a new creation,” 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

This idea of living in the moment is what Jesus had in mind when he talked about worry. Worry and anxiety about our past has dynamics that make it hard to forget. 

Jesus teaches about anxiety in Matthew 6:25-34. The principle here is helpful for the worries and anxieties of life. Anxiety attacks, in connection with depression, become a medical issue. The truths contain are solid for any therapy and treatment that may be required. Notice what Jesus says in verse 34, “Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Here we are warned not to negatively think about the future. Like dwelling in the past, focusing on the worst possible outcomes for the future can keep us from doing what we may need to do right now. What we think and do right now we have some control of. 

In sports as a coach I always wanted my players to be in the moment. The best players can make a mistake and quickly put it out of their minds to be ready for the next play. It takes experience for player to get this ability. When a player stays in the moment their best performance will be seen. 

It is often a good habit after the game to review what can be learned. A good coach may bring into practice drills what will improve a weakness. God does the same thing with us. We may, at the end of the day, review our actions and thoughts to learn from our experiences. He will give us plenty of practice to overcome what we need to overcome. But in the sports world it does no good to dwell on defeats. To dwell on defeats can eat up a player.  

The same is true of us as we dwell on our past sins. We actually have to make the focus on the good things to do and think about. That refocus reduces the energy of the negative behaviors or thoughts. We will experience a whole new freedom by letting go of the past, focusing on now, looking forward to the promises God gives us about the future. The apostle Paul shares the reasoning behind our forgiveness in Colossians 1:13, 14. Keep walking