Philippians 3:14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul was a man on fire for God, especially after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. The encounter that he had with Jesus that night changed the entire course of his life. He changed from being a religious man to a man who authored most of the New Testament epistles. He was way too ambitious in his zeal for God.
He compares himself to an athlete who does all that he can in order to win the prize and he will never settle for anything less than a gold medal. He will try and stretch out every aching muscle and strain to reach the goal first in order to win. An athlete will never look back on how much he has achieved. He will stay focused on how much he has to run. Paul never willed to dwell on the suffering he underwent for Christ but chose to know God on a more intimate and personal level in spite of having high level experiences with God. He is pressing forward in his desire to know more of Christ irrespective of the situation that he is in. His chains didn’t matter to him. His persecution and hardship didn’t matter at all. In all this, he wanted to know Christ more. He says he is pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.
Can we have the heart of Paul? Stop worrying and fretting about your past sin and guilt and wrong relationships and look forward in your spiritual race. Desire to know Jesus more on a personal level. Understand your calling of God in your lives. Press forward, look unto Jesus.
