...Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 NIV
Paul's already described that prize...that fully being "in Christ" that one day we'll really understand.
On that day he'll know fully, his questions, doubts & struggles will be understood in a whole new Light.
For now though, there is no passive waiting.
Letting the past become the shadow that it is, he's pushing hard, straining forward, towards Jesus.
But he's in jail.
This seems to be a heart yearning, a spiritual direction, an emotional drive, that is best explained by physical action... towards Jesus, towards his light (that makes the darkness flee) towards his grace (that is freely given, no matter who we are), towards his Life that gives life, that renews, restores.
There's more to this story for you and for me.
Paul here is all about direction...and direction has a destination...and the destination is a person.
The prize.
#pushon
#hope
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual. Jesus is at the centre of it all. Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
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