Press On Towards the Goal

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 3:13-14)

Meditation

Have you ever met someone who thinks there’s nothing else they have to learn to be considered the perfect Christian? It doesn’t matter that they have a hair trigger temper. Forget about all the people in their past who they will never forgive for past wrongs. They can’t tell you the last time they gave anything to help the poor. They’ve got every excuse in the world for why they haven’t stepped foot in church for years. They are wretched, poor, blind, and foolish. Well Paul was probably the greatest Christian evangelist to have ever lived and he’s telling us his race isn’t finished.

Paul’s admission should reveal something to you about your walk with Christ. It’s a journey that will take you your whole life. The best part is, each time you fall short, as soon as you’ve asked God to forgive you, you can forget it happened because he has. All that God requires is for you to say you’re sorry and start fresh from that moment on. Because you are a fallen human being, you must be on guard against two errors. Firstly, you can begin to think you’ve reached the final goal and sit back to do nothing more to strive for righteousness. Secondly, you might get discouraged when you continually fail the Lord, so you stop running the race.

If you don’t continuously try to be more like Christ, you risk ending up back in a life of hopelessness and misery. Christ calls every believer out of this sin filled world to spend eternity with him in heaven. Turn your back on everything in your past that draws you away from Jesus. Re-examine yourself all the time to make sure you are still progressing toward the finish line. You will never complete this race while you’re alive on this planet. The threshold you cross when passing from this life into eternity is the finish line. How you’ve comported yourself in this life, what you’ve done for others, how much you’ve grown in Christ will tell your place in eternity. Jesus doesn’t want you to be a bystander, cheering from the sidelines. He wants a runner in the race, striving for the finish line. Make sure you’re in the race. Hallelujah!

Prayer Time

Heavenly Father you are precious in our hearts. You give us reason to sing your praises. We rejoice in knowing you love us. Father as we come together to meditate on your love, don’t let our hearts be troubled by the cares of the day. Strengthen us every day to continue our quest to be more like Jesus. Never let us tire from doing the work of your kingdom. Help us to keep our focus on the final prize. That being the day we finish this race and cross over to our reward. We know we will never be finished with what we’re tasked with this side of eternity, so be with us every day as we walk in the righteousness of our Lord and Savior. Because we are a fallen race, we know we will slip and fall on occasion. Pick us back up and set us back on the righteous path when we’ve repented. We ask to be ministered to by you. Heal our brokenness, Lord, as we seek your face. Make us whole and give us a zeal to be a beacon of your love to the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen!