Be Like Christ

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Philippians 3:12-16

Apostle Paul is recognized by those who read his writings as a man who is surely very close to Jesus Christ.

Yet, he sees himself here as an example of one who has not yet reached the goal or the end of the race. He had endured more suffering and labored harder than most.

But he knew that he had no reason or excuse for resting from his labor.

In fact, he was in Rome, in prison, when he wrote the letter to the church in Philippi.

But Paul’s race was not finished. He continued to look ahead to the prize of the crown of righteousness.

He was willing to forget all earthly honors and desires, in order to gain the eternal prize.

We too have reason to press on toward the prize.

We must never be satisfied with ourselves; that is, to take pride in where we have come from --- without giving honor and praise to our Lord who lifted us out of the pit of sin into a new life in Christ.

We must not rest complacently on our own achievements.

I personally have never known anyone who came to a saving relationship with Christ who qualified to sit back and say, “I have it made. I am a Christian. There is nothing more I must do, but sit back and enjoy the rest of my life.”

Any progress that we have made in our race toward the goal of Christ is so very small compared to the ground that is yet to be covered.

In other words, we have never reached point where we can stop growing in Christ. It is still an everyday journey.

The Christian life is one of looking ahead, with disciplined running.

If we are running the race toward Christ today, we will forget what is behind and reach out for the things which are ahead.

Forgetting what is behind simply means that we cannot rest on our laurels – those things we have accomplished.

The achievements we have earned in the past do not give us the authority to quit or give up on doing anything else here and now. In other words, we must remember that we still have much to do.

The race we are in requires DISCIPLINE.

Discipline requires that we have no thought, or way, or preference of our own.

Discipline requires that we present our hearts to God with no desire other than to know Him and to do His will. This is a heart that is perfect before God.

We cannot stop trying because of our past failures or losses.

We cannot look at the lives of other people and become discouraged because of their accomplishments.

We cannot compare ourselves to them and give up when we think we don’t measure up.

We must continue on, counting on the power of God to help us to continue on in His will.

Remembrances of our past mercies can inspire us. Our past sins can humble us.

But dwelling in the past must be given up. There is so much to see and accomplish ahead.

It is important for us to remember that we are not yet conquerors. Our every effort is still necessary in securing the prize.

We cannot always daydream, reflecting sorrowfully on the events of our past lives; nor can we revel in accomplishments of our past.

Living in the past – reflecting on the sad events or even reflecting on the joyful events of our past --- can actually cause despondency – cause us to stop running the race – or it can cause us to become puffed up, have a false sense of security – and thus, beging running an idle race.

Remember Lot’s wife. She looked back at what had been and lost her life.

II. We must reach out for the things which are ahead.

We must press on toward the goal for the prize. Let’s look at what “press on” means in this context.

Press On = pursue, speed on earnestly; to follow after a goal.

Sometimes the race for the finish line gets hard. But when we are determined to win we will see nothing but the finish line – eternity in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ.

To gain that goal we must be determined; we must see nothing but that goal.

We must never relax our efforts. We must never lower our standards.

We must always press on toward the goal.

But, we must also know what the goal is and continually reach out toward it.

As we walk – or run – in our race we must remember that the eye precedes the foot.

We must see the goal before we start the race.

Our hearts must already be with Christ, so that our bodies can follow.

We must follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Each step brings us closer to Him.

The prize is Christ and the inheritance of all things.

Our goal: to be like Him; to live a life of purity; to be devoted to His will.

Our concentration on that goal is essential to our success.

Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith, saying this: “Fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NASB)

If you are using a rifle, you have to take aim if you are going to hit the target. Likewise, if we are going to hit our goal of being like Jesus; to live a life of purity and be devoted to His will – we must take aim in the way we conduct our lives.

There is one thing in life that is worth giving everything up for.  And that is focusing our whole life on doing the will of Christ. That is what Paul is teaching us in this Scripture.

The closer we draw to Christ, the more we feel our own unworthiness.

This is reason enough for us to keep pressing on. This is not an excuse for us to give up – or give in – thinking we can never measure up to Him or His expectations for us.

As Christians, we must never be satisfied with ourselves and our condition.

So, we must always press on. We must not rest on the complacency of our achievements.

The progress we make – on our own -is so small compared to the ground that is to be covered as we continue to live in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Perseverance implies that we are in a constant state of watchfulness and constant prayer.

Looking ahead is a part of our lives.

Think of the farmer – he has to look ahead as he plows the field. Otherwise, if he looks back or to the side somewhere across the field --- he will go off course.

We look ahead as we drive down the highway. Otherwise, we would veer off to one side and crash.