In Philippians chapter 3, Paul talks about his goal: All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life (v10). We all need goals in life. Our goals determine what we want to achieve and how far ahead we want to go in life.
Run towards the Goal
Paul’s goal was to Know Jesus. It is interesting, to hear the Apostle Paul say this at the fag end of his life. Did not he know Christ? Of course, he did. There was a reality of confrontation on the road to Damascus. Paul met with Christ and has been living for him ever since. “I want to know him” means I want to know Christ MORE – better than the day before. Jesus, then, becomes a daily experiential reality.
The experience of Christ is far more valuable than anything else. In vv. 5 -6 Paul lists all his ethnic and religious credentials – His circumcision, his Jewish identity, his religious training, his zeal to strictly obey the Law of Moses and his zeal to defend his faith. However, he says all these credentials mean nothing (v8b) compared to the wonderful lived experience of knowing Christ (v8a).
As we live for Jesus and with Jesus, our identity in Jesus supersedes all other identities. Knowing Jesus needs to be our Goal.
A Winner never quits. A Quitter never wins
Knowing Christ is a journey. We do not exhaust the riches that are in Christ. Paul encourages us to keep running to take hold of the prize (v12c). We may not have achieved the goal (v12a) and become perfect yet (v12b) but we are on the road towards perfection.
Paul encourages us to forget what is behind (v13) and press on towards the goal (13b). We must run looking unto Jesus. A winner never quits, and a quitter can never wins. We need to move on – despite our failings and limitations – towards the goal so that we can win the prize. And so, we must keep going towards the goal and never give up (v16).
Living for Jesus would mean that we experience Jesus in our everyday life and moving forward to win the prize (v14). Let’s remember: A winner never quits; A quitter never wins.
Ponder: Is Jesus a daily experiential reality in my life?
Prayer: God, I want to know you more. I want to dive deep into the depths and not wade in the shallows. Grant me the grace to keep running towards this goal and to take hold of the prize you have kept for me. Amen!
Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash
For More Articles by Samuel Thambusamy
For Me to Live is Christ (Philippians 1)
Serving Others in Humility (Philippians 2)
