Pressing On Towards the Goal

God created us with a strong desire to chase after a goal. We all need that special prize that motivates us to keep moving through life. Indeed, working towards this goal gives us a purpose; and, when that goal is reached, it proves to us that we are valued and capable. However, the only goal that can truly meet these needs is: Jesus.

As an illustration, I have recently been involved in a musical theater production. Every time we rehearse, there are countless people working hard to fine-tune their part of the show. The director is critiquing, the cast is speaking and singing and dancing, the musicians are practicing and making various changes to their performances, the sound crew is making sure the sounds happen at the right time and at the right volume, and the costume designer is busy fitting and sewing. Many other activities are taking place, but all these people have something in common. They are all working, in different ways, towards their goal called ‘Opening Night’.

In the same way, believers should always be pressing towards the same goals as Jesus: having a relationship with Him, sharing the Gospel, and preparing ourselves and others for Jesus’ second coming and our lives with Him on the glorious new earth. Just like the people in the musical theater production, the Lord has given each believer one or more gifts(and tasks associated with those gifts) that they can use to work towards the three goals listed above.

Philippians 3:7-10,12 (NIV) says:

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider every-

everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose

sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him,

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -

the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith… Not that I have already obtained all this, or

have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of

me.”

Now, the last part of this passage caught my attention: “…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” In other words, just as we strive to know the Lord, the Lord is striving to know us. The Lord already knows us, because He created us. Thus, His striving towards us is different from ours; but we can still take an example from it.

For instance, we often complain about having to read Exodus and Leviticus because of all the detailed rules and instructions. However, the Lord explained all those things in such a great detail because He knew that the Israelites had never heard of or experienced them. God wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to have the close relationship with Him that they needed. In the same token, we should also make it as easy as possible for God to be a part of our lives. Of course, God can do anything, so He doesn’t need our help. But, the more we strive to know Him, the closer we will get to Him and the faster we will achieve that closeness. If we so much as start to study about the Lord or start to pray to the Lord about every little thing in our lives, the Lord will do the rest and will reveal Himself as the only source of joy - one that cannot even compare with the things of the world.

Another big example, is Jesus’ death on the cross. As Jesus’ was sweating drops of blood in Gethsemane, He could have easily decided that the pressure was too much. He could have decided to just get rid of humanity. He could have decided to just get rid of humanity with Noah’s flood. But, no - He graciously and lovingly chose to leave a remnant, so that generations of believers could experience the joy of knowing Him. We should also be willing to sacrifice everything and anything for our faith. Whether an extra hour of sleep is at stake or our very lives, we should be willing to give that up if it means that even one person will come even a step closer to accepting the Lord into their life. However, we should not feel like we need to repay Jesus for sacrificing Himself for us(as if we could!); we should only take Christ’s suffering as an example of how faithful we should be to Him. I am also not saying that I am ready to die for my faith right now; but I pray that, if I am ever in that situation, I will be. This is actually one of the best tests of the validity of a person’s faith. Do you think someone should be willing to die for the advancement of what you believe in(not for a reward that you believe you will get after death)?

To summarize, the Lord is our hope in this life and the next. No other earthly treasure can satisfy us like a relationship with the Lord. Money, human praise, and human relationships can only satisfy us for a limited amount of time; after a while, we want more. This ‘more’ that we are desiring is actually the desire for the Lord that He has put within us. When this desire is filled, we are satisfied for eternity. If only we would press on towards THIS goal rather than chasing after the things of the world that do very little to point towards the “…Source and Perfecter .of our faith... (Hebrews 12:2 NIV).” "Our Lord and God, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You have created all things, and because of Your will they exist and were created (Revelation 4:11 HCSB).”