Running the Race

I read this (again) in Philippians:

I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12-14).

Now, hard as it may seem to believe, I'm going to set aside for the moment the implications of the phrase "I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus" (read "Election"). What really grabbed my attention was that first concept, that we are to "lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of ..." Think about that. There is a purpose. There was a reason that each and everyone of us came to Christ. There is a purpose. And it is our task as individual Christians to pursue that purpose.

Most of us are warmly familiar with Eph. 2:8-9. You know, "saved by grace", "not of works", that stuff. Good stuff. Fewer of us are familiar with the very next verse:

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

I wouldn't call this an echo of the Philippians passage above, but it sure is a parallel. First, it starts with a "for" -- a purpose statement. It answers the unspoken question, "Why are we saved by grace?" You see, Christians often tend to think "saved" is the end product. "I'm saved. I made it. That's good. Now, let's go on with living." But in Philippians Paul tells them that there was a reason that he was laid hold of by Christ Jesus and in Ephesians he tells them that the reason they were saved by grace was so that they could walk in good works. No, that's not quite adequate. Paul says in Ephesians that the good works were already prepared ... now walk in them. It's not a matter of "be good", but be the good that God already prepared. (Note that this suggests that the "good" that He prepared for you may not be the same "good" He prepared for me. Something to keep in mind.)

I'm quite sure that if Paul lived today, we'd know him to be an avid sports fan. He likes sports analogies. The Christian life, to Paul, was not a stroll through the garden with Christ. It was a race. It was serious, even brutal. He wanted "to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" (Phil. 3:10). He needed to discipline himself, to set aside failures and run with all he had toward the prize. He wanted to attain nothing less than perfection.

I have to be honest. I don't often share Paul's fervor. Sometimes I'm lackadaisical. Sometimes I'm tired. Sometimes I'm just plain lazy. Too often I simply want to rest in the shade because, after all, I'm saved. That doesn't cut it. Too often I think, "Yeah, I know what I should be doing, but that's too much work." Have you ever told yourself that? I need to get it in gear. I need to forget what lies behind. I need to press toward the prize. I need to walk in the good works that were prepared beforehand. I need to remember that it's not a stroll, but a race. "By any road, dear Lord, at any cost."