Pressing On Toward The Goal

Sometimes we can get distracted from the call that God has placed upon our lives.  When we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ we start out on a journey or a race.  The Christian life is often compared to a race in the New Testament and it truly does seem like a race when we really think of about it.

When you are running in a race you have a goal in mind and that goal is the finish line and whatever prize that you get.  When a person is in a race they usually have that desire in their hearts to finish first and receive a medal.  We like to win, let's face it.  Winning feels good and we like the attention that other people give to us because we are a winner.

When we are running our race of faith in Jesus Christ our focus isn't about winning because Jesus is the One that won our race for us by dying on the Cross in our place.  Jesus paid our sin debt by taking the punishment that you and I so rightly deserve.  When we run our race here on earth our desire is to live a life in obedience to God by reading His Word, the Bible, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish whatever the Lord wills us to do for Him.

Our focus in our race needs to be on the Lord Jesus Christ and one day we will cross the finish line which will be receiving our eternal Home in Heaven.  We must be careful not to lose focus and go off course.  There are times during our Christian walk that we will lose focus and try to do things our own way.   When we fail to do God's will and try to do things the way we think they should be done we run into trouble.  Thankfully the Lord usually lets us know when we have gone of track and He will warn us and He will help us to get refocused.  Sometimes He has to drag us or He has to get our  attention in some way.  Sometimes those times aren't very pleasant.

Philippians 3:12-21,

12 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. 
                                                                                                       

13 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,

14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

                          

15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
                                                                                                        

16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.

18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. 

We must lay down our past desires and the way we used to live before we met Christ and we need to continue onto the prize that is before us.  There is a great reward awaiting all of us who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and that is Heaven.  In Heaven we will be with our Lord Jesus for all eternity.  There will be no sorrow there, no pain, no illness, no more death, and no more tears.  What a great and awesome day that will be when we see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face.

We must run our race focused upon Jesus and live our lives for Him.  We need to read the Bible and be led by the Holy Spirit.  We need to be telling others about the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  The days are getting rather dark and scary.  We need to be about the Lord's business and run the race that the Lord has placed us in with our focus upon Jesus.

I confess sometimes I get distracted by worldly things and things that really don't matter when compared to eternity.  Many people are racing at a face pace toward eternity and they are totally unaware what awaits them.  That troubles me.  We as believers in Jesus Christ need to proclaim the Gospel to all of the world and that needs to start in our own communities and throughout out nation and throughout the world.

Let us live for Jesus by telling others about Him and let us have our focus on Him as we run our race here on the earth awaiting the day our race is finished and we enter our Heavenly Home.

Lord,

Thank You for loving us so much.

We pray that You will be our focus throughout our race.

Lead us and direct our steps.

May Your will be done.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.