Pressing On

Meditations for Ragamuffins 

February 27, 2024

Pressing On

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

Philippians 3:13

Philippians 3: 12-16

In verse 12 Paul said, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” John Wesley urged his pastors to always have the mind-set that they were ‘going on to perfection,” and that phrase is still used today when new pastors are ordained in the United Methodist Church. Wesley’s intention was rooted in his understanding of the Biblical word, holiness. John Wesley loved the word holiness. He talked about scriptural holiness, holiness of the heart and holiness of life. Many people mistakenly think holiness has to do with rigid laws, or rules, which through obedience make a person holy. Not so; holiness is a state of being. As Christians, we know that our state of being, our acceptance by God, comes as a gift of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. The definition that best fits John Wesley’s use of the word holiness is being in a state of harmony with God. In the context of today’s passage, because we have holiness of heart as a gift of God’s grace, we, like Paul, are pressing on to make what is true in our heart, true in our way of life.

Paul’s language in verse 14 is like his pastoral letter of 2 Timothy:

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

The ground of Paul’s faith was a belief that God had a future for him. Yes, Paul believed that when he died, he would be with Jesus. (See my meditation on Philippians 1: 18b-26, February 13, 2024) However, here and in 2 Timothy, Paul sets forth that the future he is longing for is the victorious return of Christ Jesus the King. That vision of his future is what kept Paul fighting the good fight.

My Takeaway: Paul’s thoughts in today’s passage remind me of my favorite part of a Communion liturgy: “When we, by faith, partake of this bread and cup we experience anew the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives as we look forward to his coming again in final victory.”

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.