“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.”
Philippians 3:13-14
It was several years ago now that I attempted my first full 42K marathon. The first 10K went smoothly, then 20K and then when I hit the 35K mark something happened: I hit what runners refer to as “the wall.” Suddenly my legs felt as heavy as bricks and it literally took every ounce of strength and concentration I had to put one foot in front of the other. When we turned onto Roxas Blvd for the final stretch of the race, my vision became blurred. I could no longer see the finishline. I started swerving and swaying and then…boom! Everything went black. I passed out! And I hadn’t even finished the race.
Just like my vision got blurred and blocked my goal of finishing the race, Paul seems to be addressing in his letter to the Philippians our tendency to allow our vision to get blurred when it comes to understanding the goal of our faith. We make it about how many people we witness to in our workplace, or how many ministries we are a part of, or how many programs we’ve started or churches we’ve planted. We make it about our impact and achievements for God rather than our relationship with Him.
But Paul is bringing us back to the one single goal of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord (look at vv. 8, 10).
Paul tells us that a kind of “pressing on” (vv. 12, 14) and “straining” (v 13) ahead is what it takes to keep going toward the goal.The Greek word for “strain” literally gives us the image of an Olympic runner straining forward with their head outstretched and face scrunched up, determined to reach the end-goal. So straining can really be understood as determination.
But so often this is something we lack. We lack the motivation and determination required to keep Jesus at the center. Often other priorities, people, pursuits–and devices– win out in the competition for our time and attention.
What are we missing?
Something said by US personal trainer and TV personality Jillian Michaels may provide a little insight for us,
“People will accomplish anything if they believe the goal is worth it.”
Jillian Michaels
So perhaps it begins by believing –or praying to God to help us believe–in the worthiness of our goal, that spending time cultivating our relationship with Jesus is worth it.
Author of a book called Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World that Loves to Be Noticed writes,
“When we cross over into heaven, we won’t discover a new, mysterious craving for God. It is here that we practice. We cultivate. We are made for this: to waste time simply being with Him. Sitting at His feet enjoying Him is not a foolish expenditure of our time. It is strength training for heaven.”
I don’t know about you but this strikes a chord in me. We are constantly having to fight against thoughts and distractions of all kinds that are whispering to us that there are better, more productive ways of spending my time than sitting at Jesus’ feet. Resisting this lie, and embracing the Truth that spending time with Jesus is the most valuable and productive thing we can do each day, is the “secret sauce” that will propel us along in our race to win the prize.
So did I win the prize that day of my race??
When I came to in the back of the ambulance that day after blacking out, the only thing I could say was, “Did I finish the race?” The sweet nurse caring for me gave me a look of pity, “No ma’am.” So I jumped out of the van and made my way–slowly straining–towards the finish line. My lips were blue, I was dangerously dehydrated, but I believed in the worthiness of my goal and it gave me the determination I needed to reach it.
My prayer is that we would discover anew “the surpassing worth” [and joy and utter satisfaction] of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. And that this in turn will produce in us an inner resolve and determination, like Paul and Susanna, that refuses to let us quit until we’ve attained our one true prize that is our Lord Jesus Christ.