ONWARD AND UPWARD

Philippians 3:12-16
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.

Pressing Toward the Goal

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.

The Christian life is not spent reviewing the past. While reflection on past events, circumstances, successes or failures can be helpful, the true benefit of that review lies in what you do and how you handle what lies ahead. We learn from past mistakes. We build on successes but we don’t live there. Life is lived in today and tomorrow.

The Apostle Paul speaks of reaching perfection … pressing on … looking forward … receiving the heavenly prize. For Paul, it was about making progress … becoming spiritually mature.

The end of 2008 is fast approaching. As you review this year, how have you matured spiritually? How much progress have you made? What do you have to build on going forward? What goal will you be pressing onward and upward toward as we leave 2008 in the past?