The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. “
Too many are convinced they can take a passive approach to serving God, living the same life they lived before they came to Christ, indulging in the same lifestyle, holding the same priorities in life, reserving parts of our lives for ourselves while giving some of that to God.
Paul brings up the idea in Phil. 3:12 of pressing on – a word that is also translated as “persecute.” He uses it earlier in chapter 3 to describe how he persecuted the church, and now, in Christ, he “persecutes” the resurrection: he pursues it with zeal, with all his focus and energy. It is his single focus in life.
The ESV translates this concept as “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Does Jesus’ zeal in pursuing me impact how I in turn pursue a life in Christ? Or are we determined to continue living a sinful life, believing that Jesus will save me regardless of how I choose to live?
Paul argues that “the love of Christ controls us” – because we see what Jesus did for us, we in turn live our lives for him, turning away from the sin for which Jesus died. We don’t go right back to the things from which Jesus purified us. When we take that approach to the Christian life, we display the contempt for Jesus’ sacrifice that the writer describes in Hebrews 10:26-29:
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. … How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?”
Questions we should be asking ourselves:
- Am I focused on growing more like Jesus?
- Am I finding more ways to serve?
- Have I grown comfortable in my routine?