Philippians 3
13Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Goal
I’ve watched the Olympic games for as many years as I can remember. I love the competition, the struggle and the joy of seeing someone who has sacrificed so much to achieve victory. The highlight of the summer games for me is always the 100 meter dash. The sheer exhilaration of watching a human being propel himself forward at such breathtaking speed is an awesome sight. I’ve seen many 100 meter dashes in my lifetime. I’ve seen the Olympic versions, the World Championship versions, the time trials and some exhibitions. In all the races I have ever seen there is one thing I have never seen: A sprinter looking behind him, looking backward over where he has been.
Similarly, in our spiritual race, the things we may have clung to that defined who we were or the paths that we have taken to get where we are are not as important as where we are going. In Paul’s specific case, he was forgetting all the things he had accumulated through Judaism. He used to declare himself righteous because of his “good works”. He used to believe he had more zeal for God than anyone else.
But then, he met Christ.
After his meeting with Jesus, everything changed. His past was no longer anything he could boast about. In fact, he lamented his past from then on. But here we learn that he knew that where he was headed in the future was of far more importance than where he had been.
He admits that he had not arrived (spiritually). He knew that he had not gotten to the place where he no longer needed anything. If Paul never “arrived” spiritually, what makes you or I think we ever could?
Understand, Paul never advocates choosing not to learn from mistakes of the past. He is advocating not resting on your laurels or believing that what you have done in the past will be good enough for today. That is the ”forgetting what lies behind”.
So after deciding to forget the past, he presses on. What does he press on for? He presses for the Prize, but he states it in a special way. He presses toward the GOAL first. A goal which seeks to acquire the prize.
What is a goal? Everyone knows what a goal is. A goal is a desired outcome, something you strive to achieve. A goal is something that is measured, something you know when you reach. Paul is talking about something that he can achieve, not some mystical feeling or premonition of spirituality.
The goal is “for the prize”. The prize is the reward of reaching the goal.
But what is the prize?
The prize is a calling of God. The upward call of God. The upward call is Heaven.
Paul presses on with the goal in mind of receiving the prize of heaven and eternal communion with God.
What will we be like in heaven?
We will be like Christ.
So our goal should be to be like Christ knowing that as a special prize which will be revealed when we are “called upward” by God.
What is your goal?
13Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Goal
I’ve watched the Olympic games for as many years as I can remember. I love the competition, the struggle and the joy of seeing someone who has sacrificed so much to achieve victory. The highlight of the summer games for me is always the 100 meter dash. The sheer exhilaration of watching a human being propel himself forward at such breathtaking speed is an awesome sight. I’ve seen many 100 meter dashes in my lifetime. I’ve seen the Olympic versions, the World Championship versions, the time trials and some exhibitions. In all the races I have ever seen there is one thing I have never seen: A sprinter looking behind him, looking backward over where he has been.
Similarly, in our spiritual race, the things we may have clung to that defined who we were or the paths that we have taken to get where we are are not as important as where we are going. In Paul’s specific case, he was forgetting all the things he had accumulated through Judaism. He used to declare himself righteous because of his “good works”. He used to believe he had more zeal for God than anyone else.
But then, he met Christ.
After his meeting with Jesus, everything changed. His past was no longer anything he could boast about. In fact, he lamented his past from then on. But here we learn that he knew that where he was headed in the future was of far more importance than where he had been.
He admits that he had not arrived (spiritually). He knew that he had not gotten to the place where he no longer needed anything. If Paul never “arrived” spiritually, what makes you or I think we ever could?
Understand, Paul never advocates choosing not to learn from mistakes of the past. He is advocating not resting on your laurels or believing that what you have done in the past will be good enough for today. That is the ”forgetting what lies behind”.
So after deciding to forget the past, he presses on. What does he press on for? He presses for the Prize, but he states it in a special way. He presses toward the GOAL first. A goal which seeks to acquire the prize.
What is a goal? Everyone knows what a goal is. A goal is a desired outcome, something you strive to achieve. A goal is something that is measured, something you know when you reach. Paul is talking about something that he can achieve, not some mystical feeling or premonition of spirituality.
The goal is “for the prize”. The prize is the reward of reaching the goal.
But what is the prize?
The prize is a calling of God. The upward call of God. The upward call is Heaven.
Paul presses on with the goal in mind of receiving the prize of heaven and eternal communion with God.
What will we be like in heaven?
We will be like Christ.
So our goal should be to be like Christ knowing that as a special prize which will be revealed when we are “called upward” by God.
What is your goal?
No comments:
Post a Comment