This Day in History: 0000-09-20

September 20 – Philippians 3:7-14

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
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.  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, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Can you relate to Paul’s sentiments in these verses, or do they seem a bit over the top to you?  I know that for me, there are times when this is not the attitude of my heart.  I see the accomplishments of my life (especially my amazing children) and take pride in my legitimate achievements, just as Paul once did.  But, the more I experience the refining work of Christ in my life, the less I feel defined by those accolades, and the more I want to be known simply as His dearly loved daughter.

I find myself praying to Him and asking for more and more and more of His Spirit.  How I long to become one with Christ!  How I want my faith to grow, and to know Him more and more! Don’t you feel the same?

Unfortunately, pride continues to pull at us all.  None of us has achieved the perfection to which we’ve been called.  God is still working.  He’s still refining. He’s still filling us with His Spirit and growing our faith.  But let us press on! Let’s never be satisfied with anything less than knowing Christ and becoming one with Him!  He saved us in order to perfect us, and He will one day accomplish it.  So let’s strap on our running shoes, and get in the race with the finish line in mind. We were called to perfection. Let’s run to win that prize.