I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
We all understand that reaching any goal needs lots of hard work, training, and self-discipline. Generally, goals have a reward or a prize associated with it. So, the hard work and the pain makes total sense. An athlete is motivated to undergo painful and hard training because his/her mind is fixed on the prize.
As a Christian, every moment of our lives needs to be led, fixing our eyes on our goal. Our final goal is to reach Heaven and spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ.
As a human, we can never reach this goal. The sinful human nature will never make us worthy. But the Lord Jesus can stand between our sinful nature and the prize, the upward call of God. Just as a silversmith polishes silver until he sees his own reflection, the Lord Jesus can mold us and change us until we are His reflection.
As a child of God, we must constantly check areas of our lives that need to be sanctified to make us worthy of the prize.
There will be obstacles, pain, and discouragement along the way. We may also feel unworthy of this calling but remember we are trusting in the One that has said in Isaiah 49:16 “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..”
Today, let us commit all areas of our lives into His hands and He will sanctify us and make us worthy of the prize.
