Friday, November 9, 2007
So Far to Go
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
—Philippians 3:12
There is a sign along an airport runway that says, “Keep moving. If you stop, you are in danger and a danger to those who are flying.”
The same could be said of Christians. We always need to keep moving forward spiritually. We cannot rest on our laurels.
Even the apostle Paul said he could not live off his past experiences. He needed to keep moving forward. He said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (Philippians 3:12). Here was one of the greatest Christians of all time saying that he had not yet attained. He was saying, “I have not arrived at some supernatural plane that is not available to other believers. I have so far to go.”
If anybody ever knew God, it was the apostle Paul. He had led countless people to faith. He had established churches. He had written epistles. Yet he said of himself that he had so much to learn and so far to go.
Imagine Paul sitting around with a group of Christians. One person might say, “God inspired me to say something to someone today. It was wonderful.” Another might say, “I heard God speak to my heart once.”
Paul could say, “God gave me inspired letters to write called epistles that will make up half the Bible. Also, I’ve actually died and gone to heaven, and then I was sent back to Earth again.”
Who could top that? If anyone could boast, it was Paul. Yet he did not boast. He said, “I have not attained. I have so far to go.”
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2007 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions,
