humble pursuit (phil 3:12-14)

Philippians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own becase Christ jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus.

Paul is humble in this passage (making it clear that he does not think he has already become holy etc) but also is totally commited to pursuing holiness. Usually for us, we are either humbly aware of our sin and not bothered to fight it, or we are wholeheartedly commited to the pursuit of holiness and self-righteous at the same time! As Christians we should have no reason for self righteousness as we are keenly aware of our own sin which made the cross necessary. But also we should be motivated to live holy lives by the love that compelled jesus to go to the cross. Paul is pressing on to make it his own because Jesus has made Paul His own. Our justification motivates our sanctification (which is still only possible by the Spirit!). This is grace-driven effort. 

"Paul answers by using the illustration of a runner. What must the runner do to succeed? He must not concern himself with some awkward mistake or misstep at the beginning of the race. He cannot run well if he is thinking about how poorly he broke from the blocks, or, on the other hand, how splendidly he covered the first few yards. He must be good at obliteration, wiping such thoughts from his mind. And he must focus his concentration completely on the goal line, driving towards it with everything his body has to offer and straining every muscle.
Here is a picture for every Christian to etch into his or her mind. We must approach the Christian life in the same manner. We must not look back to our failures or successes. We must keep ever in mind that our goal is to know Christ better, and we must daily put forth the effort to reach that goal.
We admire this kind of devotion in every area of life except the spiritual realm. When Olympic athletes begin to discipline their bodies and hone their skills, we heap praise upon them. When someone shows total dedication in the areas of medicine, science, music or drama, we approve and applaud. We applaud, for example, the violinist who explained her success in this way: ‘I deliberately planned to neglect everything else until my practice period was completed. That program of planned neglect accounts for my success.’
But when we hear of someone doing this in the area of Christian living, we are inclined to dismiss him as something of a fanatic, who, as someone has observed, will not change his mind and will not change the subject.
Why do those who are focused on knowing God bother us? Is it not because they remind us that our own priorities are not what they ought to be? Most people are living such cluttered, distracted and fragmented lives. Our lives are not integrated around a single, unifying purpose. We often embrace the ‘shotgun’ approach to life, trying to find happiness and satisfaction by scattering our time and energies over a wide range of interests and activities. We want to try a little bit of everything, and we do not want to miss out on anything.
Paul suggests we use the ‘rifle’ approach by finding the singular priority that makes life worth living, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, and give ourselves unreservedly to it."

Ellsworth, R. (2004). Opening up Philippians (66–67). Leominster: Day One Publications.