In Philippians 3:11b-14, Paul says, “…if somehow, I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it; 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.” (NRSV and NIV)
We press on toward the goal; we run the race set before us. But the race is not a competition. We are not competing with anyone on the face of this earth. We cannot compete because we cannot achieve the goal or the prize on our own. We cannot be “fit for heaven” by our own efforts. We must be transformed by the power of God through the power of the cross—through the love and faithfulness of Jesus Christ. This race is not about who will win and who will lose. The prize has already been won. We press on toward the goal to be more fully like Christ in our living and our faithfulness. We press on because Christ has transformed our hearts and given us that hope beyond hopes.
Karl Barth, one of the most famous 20th century theologians reminds us that getting to God is not a matter of going to God. “There is no bridge from here to there, but solely the way from there to here—the way that from beginning to end and all along is God’s way.” God’s way is the cross. The point where God completely got from there to here. It is in the cross where we meet God and therefore can rise with Christ into life. As Isaac Watts, the 18th century hymn writer, states in his famous hymn: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!” Cast your gaze upon the cross. Be filled with the love and hope that only comes from God, so that you can share that love and hope with others, grow ever closer to God, and welcome all who come beside you to share in the call of God through the faith of Jesus Christ.