Phil.3:13,14 – Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from prison toward the end of his life. He was not content with his past accomplishments which amazingly included opening up the western world to Christianity. Paul sensed the importance of the eternal and would not let past successes or looming barriers of resistance cause him to back down. Paul is running for the finish line. Why? He had his eyes on the prize. Recently many of us enjoyed watching parts of the Winter Olympics. One of the inspiring stories this year from the Olympics was the USA winning the gold medal in men and women’s hockey. One young man on the USA men’s team named Jack Hughes stands out as one who faced obstacles and pressed on because he had his eyes on the prize. For those who may have missed the story Jack had two teeth knocked out when he was slammed to the ice at the end of the gold medal game. Rather than leaving the game, Jack stepped up and actually scored the winning gold medal goal in overtime, quite an amazing story. Jack persevered because he desperately wanted to win a gold medal for the USA. Our prize is infinitely more valuable. We must stay in the game and finish our course. Jack Hughes could have sat on the bench, after all a silver medal was already secured and he had just literally had his teeth knocked out. Maybe you are resting on a past silver medal performance and you feel like somebody knocked your teeth out; all I can say is get off the bench and get back in the game.
The prize we are competing for is infinitely more valuable than an Olympic gold medal. Our prize involves souls, human beings without Christ headed toward a Christ-less eternity. Paul saw this clearly and refused to get out of the race. Paul had more than his teeth knocked out. He had been caned, whipped, stoned, betrayed, and shipwrecked but he stayed in the game. Paul’s past victories and gigantic obstacles in front of him could not persuade him to quit, Paul was going to finish his race.
1 thought on “PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL EVEN IF YOUR TEETH HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT”
My heart so resonates with this message both personally and being along side friends and family in the aftermath of greater losses. Paralysis of a mental and emotional kind can seem to take all the air out of the room you happen to be in. Sadly, some continue in this depleted condition. Jesus stands at our door and knocks….