Three Steps Forward, No Steps Back

What an absolutely beautiful day! It was a little overcast but warm. I enjoyed getting outside and working in the yard and  meeting a gentlemen who was coming to give an estimate on a project here at the house. I have been around the house for the day but it has gone well and I have not felt overly tired or fatigued. Tomorrow I return to Northern Colorado Rehab Hospital for my outpatient therapy session. I am counting the days and weeks trusting the I will avert another UTI infection that has plagued me every eight weeks in this past year.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”   Philippians 3:14-16

I like looking at the surrounding verses of familiar verses. Too often we look at the familiar verse or two and there is where we stop. Philippians 3:14 is one of those “familiar verses.” It is a Sunday School verse little kids memorize and one that adults should not forget as they get older. It is a constant reminder that the Christian life is about effort, a “race” to the finish, a reward beyond this world and  having our “eyes and ears” fixed on Jesus.

The Christian life is not wandering in the wilderness, it is a directional call ever upward in this life in spiritual growth and ever upward after this life in the presence of Christ. What I like is that Paul asserts that this is the “view point of the mature.” Maturity in Christ creates a common set of values that we come to understand as we “grow in Christ.” I didn’t take time to review the gamut of commentaries on these verses, but on the surface it appears like Paul is saying, “if you don’t agree with me, God will reveal to you that you are wrong.” (That is how I feel about a lot of my opinions. But I don’t think that applies here.)

What does come across very clearly is Paul’s admonition to “let us hold true to what we have attained.” Paul’s desire and encouragement is that we not go backwards in our Christian life. That is not related to struggles, or that which comes from the failings we experience living the life of the Spirit in the flesh; but it does have application to moving forward in our understanding of Christ, not being burden down by past sins or stymied by past accomplishments.

In God’s divine economy the key words are “more” and “forward.” It is not three steps forward and two steps back. It is not three steps forward and rest. It is straining, pressing forward, knowing that growth in  Christ is against the current of the world. The key is hearing God’s voice cheering us on, showing us the direction as we move toward our goal and the prize that awaits.