I was in Biscuitville, a local breakfast restaurant yesterday and an older gentleman encouraged one of the younger cashiers to “Invest in the stock market at an early age.” Not bad advice! Yet, it was his qualifying statement that caused me to pause because he said the reason for investing is that the stock will eventually grow and “This will give you hope to wake up every day knowing that you are making money.” Surely money and the things it can buy do provide some sort of “hope” beyond living in poverty but is it a hope that will cause someone to daily endure and succeed in the grind of life? Is it a hope for Monday? I think not.
This Monday morning, I read the book called Philippians from God’s Word (Holy Bible). Here, the Apostle Paul reflects upon his hope and his life purpose when he says, “One thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). The term “press on” has the idea of stiving in haste to accomplish a goal. What was Paul’s goal? Simply, it was to live in such a way that he would bring the maximum amount of glory to Christ on the Last Day at the final Resurrection.
Daily living is hard and I remember a pastor who once said, “It is harder to live for Jesus than to die for Jesus.” I disagreed in my 20s but in my 40s, I see his point! Day in and day out, it is tempting to just float along or to just “make it” but biblical endurance calls us to live with a purpose for something greater than ourselves. That purpose is living in such a way that we seek our ultimate joy in Christ and that Christ is glorified in us when we are satisfied in Him. When we exhaust ourselves daily in love and service for Jesus and others, our lives have ultimate purpose and we can understand, at least partially, that we are meaningfully playing a role in God’s plan on earth and beyond.
Paul’s call to press on to live light of the Resurrection ties in with Abraham’s life of faith in the biblical book of Genesis. In a sermon I listened to yesterday, the pastor pointed out that a number of years elapsed between Genesis 12 and 22 where Abraham grew old. In Genesis 12, God called Abraham to a journey by faith, to go to a land that God would show him. God promised to bless Abraham if he took a step of faith to go where God called him to go. As a result, Abraham would be blessed and would become a great nation. Great nations of course require great genealogies.
In chapter 22, Abraham had already taken this step of faith to go to the land but now God called him into a deeper trust and relationship with Himself by asking him to sacrificed his son, Isaac. Abraham knew that no matter what, God had to keep his promise to bless his only son because God said that he would become a great nation. After all, how could Abraham become a great nation if he had no lineage and no children? In the end of the story, God provided a ram as a substitute instead of Isaac and God was pleased with Abraham’s obedience and faith.
One of the pastor’s examples from Abraham’s life was that God is not static in how He relates to us over our lives but He is ever calling us into deeper trust and a deeper relationship with Himself. Though God called Abraham and Paul earlier in their lives to radically live by faith for Him, toward the middle and end of their lives, He again called them to trust Him by radically living by faith. He called them to press on. The question is, where have I/we grown static in our lives and relationships with Christ? How is God calling us to “press on” toward His upward call in Christ Jesus? Personally, I am glad that God never stops calling us to radically live by faith and to press on for His glory because everyday is a new adventure! I could not imagine a static life that required no faith. One day, soon and very soon, He will call me (and hopefully you!) to Himself to take a voyage to His heavenly kingdom. What an adventure that will be! Until then, let’s press on by faith and do the work He has called each of us to accomplish for His glory!
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