so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
—Psalm 103:13-14
“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
—Isaiah 43:18-19
The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
—1 Corinthians 15:47
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:13b-14
Scripture calls for us to be intentional about what we forget and what we remember. As a new year begins, it offers an opportunity to consider what baggage to leave behind in the old year.
Genesis tells of the Lord forming Adam from dust and breathing life into that dust. Multiple passages, from Genesis through the Psalms to Ecclesiastes, remind us that flesh and blood will return to dust. And the spirit/breath will return to the One who gave it. Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, prays that the Lord will provide wisdom by teaching us to count our days.
If the Lord and His word remember that we came from dust, surely that implies that we should be humble enough to remember it as well. But David sang of that memory as having purpose: the Lord's knowledge of how we are formed provides the basis of His compassion. And if He has compassion on the dust to which He gave breath, surely that implies that we should do likewise.
So, what are the “former things” that He tells us to forget? What are the things that “lie behind” that Paul forgets, and calls us to do likewise?
Forgetting and Remembering (part 1)
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits...
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
—Psalm 103:13-14
“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
—Isaiah 43:18-19
The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
—1 Corinthians 15:47
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 3:13b-14
Scripture calls for us to be intentional about what we forget and what we remember. As a new year begins, it offers an opportunity to consider what baggage to leave behind in the old year.
Genesis tells of the Lord forming Adam from dust and breathing life into that dust. Multiple passages, from Genesis through the Psalms to Ecclesiastes, remind us that flesh and blood will return to dust. And the spirit/breath will return to the One who gave it. Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, prays that the Lord will provide wisdom by teaching us to count our days.
If the Lord and His word remember that we came from dust, surely that implies that we should be humble enough to remember it as well. But David sang of that memory as having purpose: the Lord's knowledge of how we are formed provides the basis of His compassion. And if He has compassion on the dust to which He gave breath, surely that implies that we should do likewise.
So, what are the “former things” that He tells us to forget? What are the things that “lie behind” that Paul forgets, and calls us to do likewise?