Pressing On

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Philippians 3 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things… Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 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 3:7-8, 12-14, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
On Sunday, January 8, 1956, on the bank of the Curaray River, deep in Ecuador's rain forest, Jim Elliott and his four companions were savagely murdered by a group of Auca Indians, the very men for whom they had prayed for six years. 

Jim Elliott had counted the cost and given up all of the pleasures of life in order to take the gospel message to this group of natives.  He wanted nothing of earthly riches, he merely wanted to see the kingdom of God spread throughout the whole world.  

After years of struggling to learn the language of this long-lost South American tribe, after tirelessly seeking to translate the Scriptures into their language, after years of separation from family and friends, Jim Elliott paid the ultimate price for seeking to serve his Savior.

When Jim was a college student in 1949 he wrote these words: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

This quote by Jim Elliott demonstrates a few very important ideas that I would like to focus upon today.  His quote summarizes the New Testament's teaching that obedience is costly, but the rewards of passionately seeking after Christ are priceless—among the few things that we cannot lose.

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Writing to the Philippians near the end of his life from a Roman prison cell, Paul acknowledged that he had not yet completed the race of godliness.  After years of suffering for the cause of Christ, after decades of surrendering his life for the gospel, after facing constant persecution for preaching the word of God, after taking the Good News throughout Asia and into Europe, the gracious apostle admitted that he was still running the race.  He still wanted to know Christ more and become more like him.

In Philippians 3:7-14 Paul describes his motivating factors for living a lifestyle of godliness and submission to God's calling on his life.  As we look at this passage, we will see that Paul was deeply motivated.  There is no suggestion or hint of either disappointment or drudgery.  He was running a disciplined race, but he was running it with a passionate desire.  

Paul admitted that he had not attained the goal of godliness.  He had not yet been made perfect; he was still running the race.  Note the intensity, though, of his running.  He declares: "I press on… straining toward what is ahead."  This phrase brings to our minds the attitude of the runner with his eye firmly fixed on the goal, his body bent forward, every muscle and nerve in his body straining to reach the finish line.  Anyone who has ever seen the look of agony on the faces of runners straining for the tape can readily recognize the intensity conveyed by the verb "strain toward."  

Yet this intensity was Paul's experience, day in and day out.  Paul never had an off-season; he never slacked off in his efforts.  It was a lifelong discipline.  How could he sustain such intensity?  What was his motivation for surrendering to God and living a life of faithful obedience?

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In this passage, we see Paul's three motivating factors for following Christ.  In verse 8 Paul says he has given up all things for the joy of knowing his Savior.  In verse 12 he presses on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of him.  In verse 14 he presses on to win the prize for which God had called him heavenward.  The first speaks of Paul's passion; the second speaks of God's objective for him; the third speaks of God's reward for him.  

First, Paul ran hard after Christ in order to know him. Verses 7 and 8: "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…" Paul went hard after Christ, forsaking all the things people normally boast about; and he did it in order to know his Savior.  There is so much of Christ yet to be known! His wonders are inexhaustible to all eternity.  No matter how long we have been Christians, we will never be able to fully know and understand our Savior.  He is more incredible than our minds will ever be able to comprehend.  The study of Christ is an eternal study, one which we will never fully master.

Second, in verse 12 Paul said he pressed on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of him.  He earnestly strove to reach Christ's goal for him—to live out his God-ordained purpose in life. 

Lastly, in verse 14 Paul said he also pressed on to win the prize for which God called him heavenward in Christ Jesus. Paul knew his citizenship was in heaven, and he strove to obtain that heavenly prize with great intensity.  His mind was not on earthly things, but on the glory that would be his when Christ transformed his lowly body so that it would be like Christ's glorious body.


POINT OF ACTION:
David Livingston, one of the most celebrated missionaries of the Christian church, said:

People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay?  Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege.  Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life—these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us.  I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.  

How do we respond to the motivational drives of the apostle Paul?  Does the prospect of knowing our Lord with a deeper intimacy stir our hearts to follow hard after him?  Does the love of Christ so compel us that we also press on to take hold of that goal of godly perfection for which Christ Jesus took hold of us?  Does the glory of heaven and the prospect of that prize draw us forward so that we too strain toward what is ahead?  

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom and I have a confession to make: I love puppy breath.