|
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward
what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter three
Paul is talking about his life here. He is comparing it to a foot race.
I don't think the prize is a crown of gold or a special edition harp
which he will be awarded in Heaven.
Just before this passage, Paul wrote about grabbing onto all that God
has grabbed him for. He had been passionately writing about getting to
know Jesus. The prize of which Paul writes, I believe, is two things:
becoming who we are and fully knowing God, the great "I am."
In heaven we will become all that we were created to be. Think of the
talents we have wasted, the sins that have damaged our souls, the
relationships which we cannot mend. Our prize in heaven is that we will
finally be perfect and in a perfect universe. All our highest dreams
will be within our reach and we will hold them at last. We will be a
blessing to ourselves, to others, and to God himself -- forever.
In addition to that, the greatest adventure of all will be to explore
the love of our Creator. We will know God in deeper and deeper ways, and
the relationship will continue unhindered for eternity. We will be
falling in love with God without stopping. All our questions will be
answered continually, as they come up. We will at last understand how
wildly, and fully, and joyfully we are loved by the great I am merely
because we are.
By His grace,
Mike
eDevotions written by Mike Sares. © 2005. |
