I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 NIV _________________________ As I read this verse, I realized that the moment of Salvation (choosing to accept Jesus’ perfect life and death as a substitution for yours) is simple, but the process of Sanctification (growing to be more and more like Jesus) is not easy. Just like starting a race is easy to do, but finishing the race—well, that’s another story. Paul, the author, uses a race as a metaphor for our Christian life. He’s brutally honest and says that we have to “press on.” Sometimes that may mean running, walking, resting for a while and starting again . . . or even crawling to the finish line. Whatever it takes to finish the race is what you and I must do. Here’s the coolest part: the race official and Judge is also your personal coach—and He’s running beside you. Every step of the way. He’s giving you Gatorade, water to splash in your face, and He’s encouraging you too. When your stumble and fall, He helps you back up. When you stop due to exhaustion, He stays with you. Even when you injure yourself, He puts your arm around His strong and capable shoulders and never, never, NEVER leaves your side. He whispers to you constantly: “Just finish . . . no matter how long it takes you—even if you’re the last one across the finish line, you’ve got a prize waiting for you! Just finish and you can’t lose.” Take a look at the strong physical language and the focus on our participation—and work that the Apostle Peter tells us we’ll need to do. It’s found in 2 Peter 1:3-11 (NIV) “3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” So based on what you just read, I only have one question for you: Are you running with Jesus to finish the race and receive the eternal prize or are you just . . . running to try and get it all by yourself? If you’re by yourself, today you can make the decision to invite Jesus to give you what you need to finish . . . because in Jesus’ eyes, any finish is a strong finish!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 15:40:12 +0000
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