RUN THE RACE
Opening Prayer
Father God, thank you for your faithfulness to me. Thank you that all of your promises are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen.’
Read PHILIPPIANS 3:12 – 4:1
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Following Paul’s Example
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity
4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How do you picture life beyond death?My husband died suddenly. But he ran the race with Christ right up to the finish line. For him, it was all joy. For those who loved him, it has inevitably been bittersweet. As Paul acknowledges, we have not yet fully grasped what it means to keep on track with Christ, nor are we sufficiently like him. But we do have our eyes fixed on that eternal prize to claim our full heavenly citizenship. That is where we truly belong (v 14).
Paul urges the Christians in Philippi to keep a note of what they have already experienced and, like him, not look back (v 13). He invites them to choose some other Christlike role models. They cannot imitate him for long; his earthly life will soon be over (v 17). He emotionally warns them about false teachers among them, whom he speaks of as enemies of Christ-centered living. There are certainly bumps on the track, but we must keep pressing forward (4:1).
Paul is so eager to get to the finish line that he is almost falling over himself. Once there, he will exist in the world with no conflict, where Christ is fully in control. His own physical body, and ours, will be transformed to be something like Jesus’ glorious resurrection body (v 21).
Apply
How do you live in anticipation of the resurrection life you have been promised?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, help me to relate to the world around me in ways that reflect who you are, that draw others to you.
Book and Author Intros
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