Pressing On to the Prize

In Philippians 3, Paul encourages believers to keep moving forward in their Christian lives, beginning with finding joy in Jesus Christ. Then he warns them to avoid false teachers who make the Christian life all about works, citing himself as one who used works to gain favor with God in the past. But he goes on to say that everything that defined him before Christ he now considered to be nothing. His greatest goal became KNOWING Jesus Christ in every way he could-- the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering, and even being like Him in death--to the end that he might attain what Christ had singled him out for in the first place: perfect fellowship. And so Paul says he continues to press forward, forgetting everything behind, to achieve the relationship with Jesus Christ that will guarantee him the highest prize - to be known by Jesus Christ.