Pressing Toward the Goal

I do not consider that I have made it my own;

but this one thing I do:

forgetting what lies behind and

straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize

of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

(from Philippians 3:7-14)

Each Summer Elaine and I would load our car with food, outdoor gear and stuff and head to Southwest Harbor, ME. for a seaside, spiritual retreat.

Sometimes we traveled scenic Route 2 through New Hampshire and Maine, other times Interstates 84, 495 and 95. 

Each Route provided vistas of hills and valleys as well as urban buildings and traffic.

Yet there was an "are we there yet?" sense to the journey.

As a Pastor, Elaine and I had been on the move for many years knowing there would be another move to another church, so there really wasn't a sense of having arrived or finally getting there.

The Apostle Paul describes his relationship with Christ as one of being "on the move" writing, "I press on toward the goal."

This is an "are we there yet?" as he presses on, moving from his accomplishments to the goal he wishes to obtain.

John Wesley would call this "going on to perfection" striving for the goal of "the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus".

Being on a journey is a major theme in the Scriptures and a description of our lives which includes vistas and urban traffic on our way to "perfection".

Knowing Christ is pressing toward our heavenly call realizing that no one has arrived yet, everyone is on a journey going on to perfection.

Think about it: what have been the vistas or urban traffic in your pressing toward perfection?