Daily Reading: Philippians 3:12–21
I press on toward the goal. (Phil. 3:14)
Umfundisi Moyo preached, “Paul’s depiction of running the race is about obtaining sanctification, not salvation. In other words, the people running the race are believers who are called to spiritual maturity.”
What is sad is that too many Christians become so preoccupied with the tyranny of the urgent that they miss out on that which is meant to be the most important. It is so easy to become the victim to the loudest or latest demands. You have twenty e-mails to answer. There is an urgent meeting you need to attend. Students want you to grade their papers. The demands of life can crowd out the times we should spend growing in the Lord.
We have to decide what matters most. This is why Paul wrote that he was pressing on toward the goal. To “press on” means to “pursue as a hunter.” It carries the idea of moving quickly and energetically toward an objective, straining every spiritual muscle in order to win the prize. It is becoming totally focused on God.
Charles Spurgeon used to say, “I hold and am held.”After God seized Paul, Paul was determined to serve His Savior with all he had, for the rest of his life. To accomplish this he was willing to exert maximum effort in his spiritual life. He was not willing to cruise.
Put maximum effort into your spiritual life; don’t be a Christian on cruise control.
Jim “Umfundisi” Lo is the author of Connect with God: The Purpose of Prayer(WPH) and the dean of chapel at Indiana Wesleyan University.
