December 29, 2002
“Not that I
have already obtained it (Christlikeness), or have already become perfect, but
I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold
of by Christ Jesus.”
I am sure that most of you have realized by now that
the Apostle Paul is my “hero in the faith!”
I have preached and taught much from his epistles and am still thrilled
with the truths found there and more gems are uncovered with each reading. In Philippians 3:10 Paul stated that his
desire was to become intimately acquainted with Jesus Christ.
“That I may
know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
In today’s passage Paul alludes to his consuming
drive to be perfect as his savior is perfect.
He then lets us know that he hasn’t achieved that wonderful goal as
yet. He goes on to say that “I press on
so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ
Jesus.”
“To lay hold of” is to possess. Christ laid hold of Paul in order to conform
him to His own perfect image. Paul
writes that even though he hasn’t laid hold of that yet, there is one thing
that consumes him, “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what
lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus.”
Paul is not saying that he discounts what he has
accomplished in the past for Christ as nothing. Rather, he puts all the victories and defeats of his past life
out of his mind and in doing so he sets his mind on the future to what lies
ahead. His goal – the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
This is not to say that Paul was working his way to
Heaven. Our eternal life is secure the
moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.
And yet as Christians we, like Paul, because of what Christ has
done for us, desire to become more and more like Him. The Apostle John puts it this way:
And now,
little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence
and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. I John 2:28
Beloved, let us never stop our pursuit of growing in
Christ. Let’s make the twelve months
ahead a time of moving forward in the Lord.
Don’t rest in what you have already accomplished, thinking that you have
reached God’s goal for you in your life.
On the other hand, don’t consider your defeats as ruining your future
opportunities for God. Make a pact with
God to push on for Christ. Say to
yourself, “Self, I’m determined to remain closer and work harder in 2003 for
the Lord Jesus than I ever have before,” and mean it!
There is yet much land to conquer and my challenge
to each one of us is that our goal for this next year is to be more like Christ
at the close of 2003 than we are today.
That is my prayer. God bless and
have a great New Year!
Love
in Christ,