Press On

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Philippians 3:12

Yes, I am still in the book of Philippians. I don’t want to leave it yet. I may have missed something. And I haven’t finished the instructions in the front of the book.

While taking a little professional exam many years ago, I learned that reading carefully is important. One missed word changes the whole context of a passage.

Here, in the book of Philippians, Paul has just listed his credentials. Go ahead and click on Philippians to read all of chapter 3. His point being, he was a rule keeper. He knew the law and kept the law and enforced the law. Before being met while approaching Damascus.

Jesus took hold of him. The light of that meeting was so bright it brought Paul to the ground. It blinded him for three days. He didn’t eat or drink during those three days. I think it is fair to say that when Jesus took hold of Paul, He wanted him to remember the meeting.

Paul remembered. Paul knew why Jesus took hold of him. The gospel message needed another speaker. So Jesus grabbed Paul on the side of the road and made an impression. Forever marked the former persecutor of the gospel message.

When Paul opens chapter 3, he makes no apologies for writing what seems like the same stuff as before. No apology needed, Paul. We get it. They probably got it. We are a hard-headed bunch that needs the message repeated.

I wonder if he, too, needed it to be repeated because of that meeting outside Damascus. It was one of those moments you just don’t want to forget. You really want to keep it on your mind because those are the things from which lives are changed.

He continues to press on. The full goal hasn’t been met. That taking hold is still taking hold. There is still more that needs to be done.

So I sit with Philippians open still. There may be more to press on for. There may be someone reading this that needs to be taken hold of by Jesus. I pray so.