Why we can’t forget

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Philippians 3:13 KJV

In 1968 at the Olympics in Mexico City, John Stephen Akhwari became renowned for finishing last when competing in the marathon. While jacking for a position in the pack during the race, he fell. This fall caused a dislocated knee and a bruised shoulder, but he kept running. Akhwari finished number 57th with a time recorded more than one hour after the winner crossed the finish line. The race had 74 runners, but only 57 crossed the finish line, including Akhwari. When asked by a reporter why he kept running after the injuries, Akhwari replied as follows:

My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.

After the 1968 Olympics, Akhwari continued to compete. Although he finished first in the African Marathon Championships before the Olympics, he finished fifth in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games, where he ran a 2:15:05 time.

Stan Isaacs (November 5, 1991). "Bud's Olympiads Are Worth Their Weight in Gold." Newsday. p. 109.

Considering life as a race, the Apostle Paul viewed it from the perspective of a runner who competed to achieve a goal. Yet, we find ourselves regressing in life instead of progressing because of past events. For this reason, Paul penned these words: Forgetting those things behind and reaching forth unto those before.

Paul's past does not influence his standing. In other words, the past does not control Paul. However, I am sure, and like many today with horrific experiences, one can quickly diagnose the Apostle Paul with PTSD because of his life tragedies, such as:

Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day a drift at sea.

2 Corinthians 11:24-25

Remember, an athlete never looks back when competing. Likewise, the Apostle Paul never looked back, allowing his horrific experiences to cloud his focus.

Secondly, Paul reminds his readers that he reaches forth and stretches himself by using every muscle in his body like a competing athlete. He spares no energy while using every ounce of his strength to reach the finish line.

Lastly, Paul presses toward the finish line. The focus of every athlete is from start to finish because the ultimate prize at the finish line motivates the athlete to persevere. Like Akhwari, his focus during the entire marathon was the finish line. He forgot the minor setback of falling, dislocating his knee, and bruising his shoulder because his total focus centered on the finish line.

As we experience LIFE's ups and downs, please question your true focus. Is your focus on current events to improve your wealth, fame, and prestige, or are you like Paul forgetting the good, bad, and ugly while focusing on the afterlife with Jesus?