OPINION —
Philippians 3:13 — “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…”
There are some things in life we wish we could forget.
Words we said.
Choices we made.
Moments we wish we could take back.
Even after we’ve grown, matured and even changed… those memories have a way of lingering around and reminding us of past failures. And with those memories, often comes a quiet voice that says, “That’s who you really are.”
That voice, is called shame.
Shame doesn’t just remind us of what we’ve done — it tries to convince us that our past defines us. It tells us we’re not good enough, not worthy or not able to move forward. But when we open scripture, we find a different story.
The apostle Paul had a past most of us would rather not even imagine. He persecuted Christians, imprisoned them, stood by as others were killed and, by his own admission, was a man who once worked against the very message he would later preach. And yet, when Paul writes in Philippians 3, he says: “Forgetting those things which are behind…”
Paul wasn’t saying he had no memory of his past. He remembered it clearly. In fact, he speaks of it often. He simply refused to let his past define him. Instead, he chose to define himself by what Christ had done for him. That’s the difference between guilt and grace.
Guilt says, “Look at what you’ve done.”
Grace says, “Look at what has been done for you.”
Shame says, “You’ll never move beyond this.”
Grace says, “You are not who you used to be.”
Paul didn’t ignore his past — but he didn’t live in it either. In fact, the very thing that once brought shame became a source of purpose. The man who once opposed Christ became one of His greatest servants. The past that could have paralyzed him instead fueled his passion. And that’s what God still does today.
He doesn’t erase our past…
He redeems it.
He doesn’t pretend it didn’t happen…
He transforms what it means.
So yes, we all carry shameful memories and moments that we wish we could change. But in Christ, those moments no longer define us — They remind us.
They remind us of grace.
They remind us of mercy.
They remind us of how far God has brought us.
And instead of holding us back they can push us forward. In fact, that’s what the apostle Paul means when he says he is “reaching forward.”
That’s the life God calls us to live. Not stuck in shame, not trapped in regret, but moving forward in the freedom that only Christ can give.
So the question is not whether you have a past. We all do.
The question is: Will you be defined by it… or transformed beyond it?
