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 

Diligence can be defined as a constant and earnest effort to accomplish a task. Often, we celebrate an athlete that defies all odds, through fierce determination and work ethic, to reach the pinnacle of his/her sport. Or perhaps we see someone who begins in poverty, only to start a business and, through tenacity and hard work, grow that business into a multi-million dollar a year enterprise. This is diligence displayed and the world celebrates this kind of fortitude. But what do we say about diligence in our spiritual lives? Are we diligent in seeking eternal things, the only things that truly matter?

Today, Paul is going to offer us a spiritual imperative for anyone desiring to be diligent in his/her spiritual life. That imperative is the ability to forget the past. Paul says, “but the one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on…” Baggage from our past can act as one of the fiercest enemies to our “pressing on.” To engage in a constant effort to accomplish what God has purposed for us to do is going to require us to jettison anything that would impede our progress as followers of Jesus Christ. Emotional and mental baggage can encumber our spiritual freedom, progress, and spiritual development. And if there was ever someone who had his fair share of baggage from the past, it was Paul.

Paul was a former Pharisee, defender of the Law, and persecutor of the church. In his ignorance, Paul was actively working to extinguish any influence that the early followers of Jesus were making. He viewed them as dangerous and acted against them. Paul may not have personally imprisoned and killed these early Christians, but he was at the center of the effort, heartily approving of it all. Then he met Jesus and everything changed. God chose to use the biggest legalist in the world to become His primary missionary, spreading the gospel to the Gentile world. Can you imagine entering a city in which you would be the main speaker at a revival service and the people attending were the relatives of the very people that you had killed just a few years before? Talk about baggage from the past. But in order for Paul to effectively fulfill the mission that God had called him to, he had to “forget what lies behind.”

I don’t know what your life looks like or the amount of emotional baggage that you may be carrying, but whatever it is, diligence in your Christian life today is going to require you to put the past behind you. I have my fair share of past baggage and can tell you from experience that God can and will use everything in our lives as a means of promoting the gospel of Jesus Christ. We only need be willing to exercise diligence by turning away from the things that bind us and embrace the forgiveness and power that comes from knowing Jesus. Forget what lies behind, reach forward to what lies ahead, and press on!