Press Toward the Mark

The Christian life is a race, and we are to run in such a way as to win the prize. But what is the prize? Paul says in Philippians that he does not consider that he is yet complete or has attained the resurrection, but that he presses on toward the mark for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We ought to look forward to the Lord, at the end of our race, calling us up to the winner’s platform. 

The picture some give of salvation by grace is one that leaves believers with nothing to do but to wait to die and go to heaven. This is a false picture. You were dead in sin, and you are now made alive. Has God given you a heart, and are you to let it rest sluggish? Has God given you legs, and are you not to run the race set before you?

But how to we get there? It is in Christ that we find our reward, and it is only by faith in Him that we find the ability to run. So press toward the mark of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.