Straining Forward To What
Lies Ahead
Yet whatever gains I had, these
I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard
everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as
rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through
faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by
becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from
the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or have already
reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has
made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but
this 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 heavenly call of
God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind;
and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you.
Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
Philippians 3:7-16
The apostle knew that he had more to learn about the
Spirit of God, and he also knew he had a long way to go in becoming like
Christ. What could he do? He could either fixate on the past, with its
failures, disappointments, struggles, and disputes, or he could move on to what
was next.
We learn from Paul how he chose to live his life. He
forgot about those things in his past, and he reached forward for the prize of
the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. It is a perspective that speaks of
moving on – of embracing what is next. It is where we too must focus as we seek
to be shaped into the image of the Savior while we look forward to eternity
with Him.
Keep your eyes fixed on the prize.
Our Daily Bread – April 18, 2009