“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you” (Phil. 3:13-15).
Everyone wants to be a winner. This is emphatically important in the spiritual sense. Paul was zealous before he became a Christian (cf. Gal. 1:13-14) and more so afterward (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10). Paul is a great example of one who knew what a winning attitude is like and how to speak of it to others. Consider three of his inspired thoughts.
1. Centralized Focus. A divided heart is a certain setup for failure. James wrote, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). Single-minded focus is a key to successful spiritual living. The inspired apostle specifically stated, “this one thing I do” (Phil. 3:13). Jesus had this as his driving purpose, where he said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). There are so many things in this life that can choke out the efficiency of the word of God in life. Jesus said, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22). Paul is an example of the good ground (cf. Luke 8:15) where nothing would be allowed to hinder the effect of the word of God in his life in Christ.
2. Ceasing to Live in the Past. One cannot move forward and continue to live in the past. Jesus himself stated, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Paul wrote of pressing forward by first saying, “forgetting those things which are behind” (Phil. 3:13). Only the Christian can fully do this. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Having been forgiven of one’s sins now provides the opportunity to live a productive and winning life.
3. Confident in the Prize Set Before. Paul’s life is an example in confidence. His was not that of self-confidence (cf. Phil. 3:9) but of the assurance he had in Christ (cf. Rom. 5:1-2). It is out of this confidence that he could write, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). It is toward the end of his life that he would say, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Again, Paul wrote at the closing of his life, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6-8). As a confident athlete who finishes the racecourse to receive his crown of victory, Paul saw by faith his glorious crown given to him in the end. A rock-solid faith like that has value for daily living as well for the challenges unto the end.
Jimmy Clark