Toward the Goal

The apostle Paul says of himself that he was a Jew circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, and, as touching the law, a Pharisee without fault. Yet after he met Christ on the road to Damascus, he laid aside of his own accord the family, the learning and the Roman citizenship he had once boasted of.

What is given up does not simply vanish; to give it up is to stop leaning on it for strength. To be saved by grace means that Christ has given the grace to paint the picture of faith, and just as Rahab tied the scarlet cord in her window, those who have received that grace cannot help but show it in the way they live. That Paul pressed on, though beaten and thrown into prison, shows that his faith was genuine.

To press toward the goal is to forget all that lies behind and to run with eyes fixed only on what is ahead. The world will not change of its own accord unless God’s people let their light shine. If they run toward the goal without fear, the Holy Spirit will give them wisdom and understanding, and will commend them with the words, “Well done.”