PRESSING FORWARD Devotion 3 of 12

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14)

WHY PAUL WAS INTENSE IN HIS DEVOTION

Those who are haphazard in their commitment to Christ find it difficult to comprehend the zeal of believers. But there is a compelling reason for their incessant effort. Consistency and fervency are traits of those in quest of heaven. For those who have believed the "glorious Gospel of the blessed God" (1 Tim. 1:11), there is no command too difficult to obey. There is no sinful lust worthy of gratification. There is no "exceeding great and precious promise" beyond their reach or to which they do not earnestly aspire. The "love of Christ" has constrained them (2 Cor 5:14) to "mount up with wings like eagles," "run and not be weary," and "walk and not faint" (Isa. 40:31).

Nothing Hinders Pursuit of Jesus

Like Paul, followers of Christ will pursue Him when persecuted by the world. They will quicken their pace when hardship befalls them, becoming more determined to reach the goal when obstacles are hurled into their path. Their determination is matched by the grace of God. But, at the point their resolve weakens, grace begins to dissipate, losing its attractiveness and efficacy. Grace will not sustain the spiritually disinterested individual--the one NOT living by faith. God has "no pleasure" in such indolence (Heb 10:38-39).

Law Cannot Produce a Sustained Spiritual Effort

You cannot maintain sustained a zeal for Christ by a system of law. Threats, however true they may be, are not sufficient incentive to keep people running the race and fighting the fight. It is not that they are without value--God forbid! Threats and warnings are necessary while we are in the world. However, they are not designed to produce sustained effort. Rather, they are given to awaken lethargic souls that are beginning to settle down in this world, the condemned environment. They provide an effective incentive to turn from ungodliness, but they cannot constrain run to run the race to glory with patience. That effort is created and sustained by looking to Jesus and embracing the "exceeding great and precious promises" (Heb 12:1-2; 2 Pet 1:4).

Zeal Under Law

Prior to being "in Christ," Paul was devoted to the Law--the holy Law. He exercised himself to be "blameless" concerning the righteousness of which it spoke. But that zeal was nothing to compare with what he experienced in Christ Jesus. In Him, effort reached a new plateau. The persuasion of "the mark of the high calling of God" instilled a zeal law could not produce. Grace is always superior to Law, both in appeals and effects.

He Labored More Abundantly

Paul "labored more abundantly" than the rest of the Apostles (I Cor. 15:10). It was not because he was younger, or because he had access to more technical aids. It was because he saw more. His heart and mind were ravished with the grace of God. His eye had a single goal. He was willing to "spend and be spent" for the cause of Jesus (2 Cor. 12:15). Although this is an exceeding rare attitude among the redeemed, it may be possessed by any individual desiring it. It was "the grace of God" that led Paul to labor "more abundantly." But grace does not simply take us over; it becomes dominant only when it is sought. It can rule only when self-denial and cross bearing are present. We can only be truly "strong" for strenuous life with Christ when we are "weak" (2 Cor.12:10).

-- TOMORROW: UNMATCHED GLORY --