Pam's Perambulation

⁴  Others may brag about themselves, but I have more reason to brag than anyone else. ⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old, and I am from the nation of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a true Hebrew. As a Pharisee, I strictly obeyed the Law of Moses. ⁶ And I was so eager that I even made trouble for the church. I did everything the Law demands in order to please God.

⁷ But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. ⁸ Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ ⁹ and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. ¹⁰ All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, ¹¹ so that somehow I also may be raised to life.

Running toward the Goal

¹² I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. ¹³ My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. ¹⁴ I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.

We might have a good pedigree or have achieved great things.  We may have lived life by the rules, and done what we felt was required of us.  Or not… But have we done the things that really matter?  We find our way to God, not by who we are, or what we’ve done, but simply by believing in Jesus.  He accepts us just as we are, there is no test, no criteria to meet, no right background to come from – believing in him is enough.

But that doesn’t mean we remain static.  There is still a race to be run.  What has gone before is of no consequence, it is where we are going now with God that matters.

Thank you Lord

that to you

where I have been,

what I have done,

and what I think of myself

do not matter.

What matters is running the race with you now.

So

I put my faith in you,

and ask you to take hold of me,

and we run towards the goal

together

~ by pamjw on March 13, 2013.

Posted in bible, God, Jesus, Lectionary, lent, Religion, theology
Tags: Lectionary, lent, life, Philippians 3:4-14, race