THE MAIN THING

Philippians 3:12-14
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.


Life can get very complex. When we look at the life of the Apostle Paul, his life was not without complexity. He faced challenge after challenge. He was able to accomplish so much (extensive travel as a missionary, church planter, pastor, mentor, major author of the New Testament) because he kept his focus on the main thing. The central priority of his complex life was his defining “… one thing…” .

Life can be too complex to be lived by a list. When you wake up to meet new and unexpected challenges, having your “… one thing …” well established as your defining priority, helps you keep the main thing the main thing. That’s what Paul did.