“I don’t mean to say that I have already . . . reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” — Philippians 3:12-14
Commitment means to completely dedicate ourselves to a cause or something that we really believe in. What I’m referring to is our zeal for the things of God and remaining faithful to that cause, regardless of the cost. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians he expressed his absolute commitment to his calling by God.
I recently read a story about a political protester by the name of Jody Mason. He wanted to make a statement about war and the president’s policies. So he padlocked himself to the door of a building in Olympia, Washington—a building housing government offices and officials, a place where his committed voice of dissent would be heard. At least, that’s what might have happened—if Mason had picked the right building. Unfortunately, he chained himself to the Washington State Grange building instead of the U.S. Department of Energy building he’d targeted. The Grange is a nonprofit advocacy group that focuses on improving the lives of citizens who live in rural areas. Mason had been chained to the door for 18 hours before Grange staff members told him he had the wrong address. Well, you’ve got to give him credit—he was certainly committed to his cause.
What about our commitment to Jesus? What does it take as a Christian, when everything around us is trying to get our attention? Well, the apostle Paul gives us at least three recommendations from this passage.
- First, we need to stay focused on Christ. In Colossians 3:1-3, he tells us to, “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hid in Christ.”
- Secondly, we need to forget the past. There’s not one thing we can do to change anything that we’ve ever done. What’s done is done. With forgiveness of our sins, we have the power to move ahead.
- Lastly, we are to look forward to what lies ahead and reach for it. It’s like the tape at the finish line. The race is almost over and the prize at the end? Heaven. That’s not a bad reward and sure does beat chaining one’s self to the wrong building.
One final thought from one of my favorite football coaches, Lou Holtz: “If you don’t make a total commitment to whatever you’re doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking. It’s tough enough getting that boat to shore with everybody rowing, let alone when a guy stands up and starts putting his life jacket on.” Maranatha!
Pastor Don
