ad written, as with
a pen of steel, lessons of law and love upon the soul of the apostle,
and in characters too deep ever to be obliterated.

What, then, did Paul mean when he here describes himself as "forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things
which are before"? He meant his language to be understood comparatively
and relatively. He was thinking chiefly of the new life which had been
opened before him by Jesus Christ, and of the enthusiasm and devotion
with which he pursued it. He likens himself to a contestant in a
foot-race, whose eye is bent on the track before him, not on that
behind his back--who is ever measuring in thought the distance yet to
be traveled until the prize is won. He meant, therefore, that he was so
absorbed in the new pursuits and duties given him by Jesus Christ that
his past life was comparatively forgotten. He did not mourn the honors
in the Jewish Church which he had lost by becoming a Christian. He did
not dwell upon the anger of his Hebrew friends, now that he had the
friendship of Christ himself. He did not regret the sacrifice he had
made, since a better reward had been bestowed upon him. He did not let
past troubles hamper present actions, nor past successes cause him to
rest upon his laurels, nor past services satisfy him, nor past losses
embitter him. He turned resolutely to the future. He pushed ahead in
his divinely appointed way. He let the dead past bury its dead, while
he was absorbed in the living present and the coming future. Speaking
relatively, in comparison with the absorbing business of his life, he
could say, "Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth
unto those things that are before, I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Thus understood, St. Paul's language becomes exceedingly suggestive of
things that it is worth our while to forget, and the way in which we
should forget them. Like him, we are not required to blot out the
remembrance of the past. There could be no improvement if we did not
remember past mistakes and profit by them. It is often our sweetest joy
and highest pride to think of the days that are no more, of the
wondrous history of mankind, of our own journey as Providence has led
us on, and above all things, of him whom we are to hold in everlasting
remembrance. But we must keep life's balance true. Some people are
always living among the gravestones, regretti