Press On
There are times in our lives when we sit back and take account. We think about where we are in life, what we have accomplished, what we have failed to do, who we have let down, or what goals we have met. What we reflect on varies based on the season of life we are in.
The beginning of a new year is one of those times we reflect back on our lives. Reflection can elicit many emotions like joy, pride, sadness, regret, anger, confusion, or peace. Some reflections are hard like thinking about a person we lost, or a bad choice we made, or an opportunity we missed. Some reflections are delightful like a newborn child, or a met goal, or a new friendship. Some reflections are confusing like something happening out of our control, or people leaving us without our understanding.
In Philippians 3:12, Paul is sitting in prison writing to the people of Philippi and he is taking account. He is reflecting.
Philippians 3:12 reads:
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Paul is saying… I am far from where I want to be, but I will press on because Jesus claimed me, and I want to fully claim Him.
I am far from where I want to be. Does that feel familiar? Is that hitting home?
For me, when something is hard in my life, I put my head down and push through. I am currently going through a tough situation at work that is filling me with uncertainty about my future. My natural tendency is to push through and not talk about it until the difficult situation has been resolved. I don’t put my stuff out there for others to see, so even typing this right now, is causing me some angst.
Paul is not talking about this kind of pushing through. He is reminding us to press on because Jesus has made us His own. Pushing through involves pride, ego, and self-reliance. Pressing on involves faith, hope, and anticipation.
If you are reflecting on 2021 and feeling far from where you want to be, I hope you find Paul’s words encouraging.
Press on.
Press on because Jesus has claimed you. He has claimed all of you. Your bad choices, your mistakes, your accomplishments, your secrets, your heart, your negative thoughts, your words, and your actions. He has fully claimed you. He is not keeping a tally of your good and bad. He is fully claiming all of you. And, for me, that is enough reason to press on.
Regardless of what is going on in my life right now, my ultimate goal here on earth is to fully claim Jesus. In all parts of my life. Not just in my church life, or in the neat little tidy parts of my life, but in all parts of my life.
So before you and I get too far down the road of wondering, questioning, regretting, or fearing our past or our future, let’s stop and remember we are not perfect and perfection is not our goal. Rather, we must first make the choice to press on. We are going to press on because even if everything in our lives feels upside down, Jesus has fully claimed us. And if we can make claiming Him our highest priority, many of those hard reflections begin to pale in comparison to the hope, joy, and peace we get from choosing and pursuing Him.
God, thank you. Thank you for fully claiming every part of all of us. Thank you for reminding us to press on. Our time here is a journey to you. A journey we want to cherish and value. We ask that you continue to guide us in our pursuit of you and your son, Jesus Christ. We ask that you continually help us press on.