Philippians 3 - Running the Race

If any of you have ever run in a race, then you know there is much more to it than just the race. You have to prepare, practice, push yourself to be better and better. You can't just look at someone who is a somewhat decent runner and try to be just a little bit better than him. Good runners don't focus on everyone else. They don't compare themselves to each other. No, they focus on how they can make themselves better. They focus on the future.... their goals. Then, they focus on what they can do to attain their goals. How can they get better? How can they perform well? They look at the BEST runner and then work so that they can surpass them. 

This is the idea that Paul wants to convey in Philippians 3. As Christians, we are to be continually focused on the future. We have an amazing future ahead of us. So, we need to be running the race on earth with our eyes focused on the finish - our future in heaven. 

Paul gives us a great example of being focused on the future in every part of life. Paul talks about the past, the present, and the future. He shows how he used to live in the flesh...he persecuted Christians and "followed" the law. Yet, Christ completely changed his life. Since then, all of his worldly gains he counted as loss. Paul's focus changed. His focus shifted to being on his future with Christ. 

This is how we are to live our lives. We are to "press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." We are not supposed to be focused on ourselves or on others. We need to be focused on Christ. We should not compare ourselves with others. (According to Warren Wiersbe) "Many Christians are self-satisfied because they compare their 'running' with that of other Christians, usually those who are not making much progress. Had Paul compared himself with others, he would have been tempted to be proud and perhaps to let up a bit. After all, there were not too many believers in Paul's day who had experienced all that he had. But Paul did not compare himself with others; he compared himself with himself and with Jesus Christ." Instead of aligning himself with others, he aligned himself with Christ. He was then able to see what he lacked and what he needed to improve or to change. 

Most importantly, Paul did not follow the ways of the world. He knew that this world was not his home. Paul understood that he was a "citizen" of heaven. He says in verse 20 that "our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." Knowing that we our citizens of heaven should affect the way we live our day to day lives. We should be EAGERLY waiting for our Savior. We should be waiting, but we should be a light while we are waiting.