<p>3:13 <i>Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet. But one thing I do, forgetting the past and looking forward to those things which are ahead</i>- Paul twice stresses that he does not consider himself to have arrived at the &quot;perfected&quot; state (:12). Perhaps this was in response to slander that he considered himself perfect. &quot;Forgetting the past&quot; doesn't mean to delete past events from our memory banks- because that is not within our power to do. And Paul talks freely about his awful past, h had not obliterated memories. So Paul presumably means that we are not to wallow in past failure. The certainty of what is ahead means we will focus on that; the glass is not only half full rather than half empty, but more than half full. We admit we have not yet attained perfection, but this doesn't mean we are to allow the past to exist as a fountain of constant regret. We are to look forward in sure hope to the things ahead- which is to know Christ, to be perfectly and fully like Him through the resurrection to life (:10,11,14). Paul sees this hope as being &quot;ahead&quot;. He looks forward to it without any doubt as to whether it shall be true for him; because 'hope' means a confident assurance that what we hope for we shall certainly receive. It is not a mere 'hoping for the best'. But &quot;looking forward&quot; is literally 'reaching forth', and connects with the image of the runner which will be used in :14. The idea is of the athlete stretching forth head and body towards the finishing line. Paul felt that the end of his race was very near- another indication that he wrote this at the very end of his life, when he felt he had all but finished his race (2 Tim. 4:7). See on 2:16. Here he speaks as if he is but centimetres away from the tape and is reaching forward to touch it.</p>