Challenge: Pressing On

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Phil 3:13-14 NASB

It’s easy for me to read Paul’s letters and see what I believe to be his perfection.  In Phil 3 alone, he makes statements about counting all things as loss (rubbish and dung, even) as compared to the foundational treasure of knowing Christ.  I see myself as so far from that reality of life.  And that is just one statement.  Paul’s letters are full of realities that I seem to be unable to reach in my own life.

But then I read these two verses and I find inexpressible encouragement and hope.

Paul knew where he was going.  He knew his goal.  And, when he taught his flock, either in person or through his letters, he instructed them in the goal.  But, he was not ashamed to admit that he had not yet fully reached the goal himself.  It was a perpetual journey that he knew would not end until his death. 

As a person with a tendency toward perfectionism, I often struggle with my natural inclination to give up completely when I cannot achieve perfection.  That is true in everything from keeping house to growing spiritually.  Reading these verses, I am both encouraged and challenged.  Encouraged that it is okay to still be lacking in perfection.  Challenged to stave off discouragement; to stay the course and press on toward the goal.  I hunger to be there now, but it will instead require my life.  Every second of it.  May I never stop pressing onward!