Run to Win

New beginnings are a BIG deal to us and as the New Year dawns, we anticipate the opportunities and possibilities that may come along with it.

Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13-14 read as if they might have spoken on such an occasion as a New Year but they were not; there the Apostle of the Lord wrote:

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

As I said, people make a big deal out of New Years Eve and Day – they call it a fresh start, but in actuality we have a least as many as 365 ‘fresh starts’ per year (if the Lord will allow) – one a day and often many more than that and while with every day comes the fresh start, wouldn’t it be better if each day we built momentum in a specific and determined direction – just like a runner running a race to the finish line.?

As resolute Christians entering into a New Year or simply a new day our only resolution should be to surrender ourselves each day to the Lord’s will and to pursue an ever deepening relationship with Him. In the third chapter of his letter to the Philippians the Apostle Paul used his own life as an example to teach that important truth.

As a runner (once upon a time) I know that you don’t begin your race on the track but in the daily discipline of training; in (v.13-14) Paul used a runner’s metaphor to describe his life of faith. As I consider his words I think of Jesus as the leader in our race – He is well out in front of the rest of the runners and it will take everything Paul or anyone else has to even keep Him in sight. This is the impression that I have of Paul – he is in the race and on the track in pursuit of Jesus and he is committed to pushing himself beyond yesterday’s accomplishments to reach the goal and finish his race well.

Part of the “discipline of training” for a runner is removing things from his or her life that would hinder them from running well and focusing on others. In chapter three of his letter to the Philippian believers Paul points out some things that could hinder them from running well.

• 1. Beware of people, specifically false teachers who would turn or pull you away from running the race (Philippians 1:2-3).

Before I move from this point I want to stress that I am not saying you are not to associate with unbelievers. How can we get the gospel out if we don’t associate with those who have yet to believe it? But we are called to cease associating with believers who are living in open sin and we are called to avoid and beware of false teachers (or prophets) (see Matt. 7:15, Romans 16:17, Col.2:8) who twist the word of God to make it say what God did not intend it to say – beware of such as these who’s influence may pull you away from the Lord.

• 2. Beware of attitudes which would pull or keep you from running the race. Dwelling on past failures or successes can keep us from pressing on in our race for the goal. Even though Paul reflected on his accomplishments in (Philippians 3:3-6) he said that he counted them as loss, dung and rubbish (v.7-8) for Christ.
• 3. Beware of behaviors which would pull you or keep you from running the race. (Philippians 3:17-21). In (Ephesians 4:22-24) he reminded us to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

One last thing, and as we enter into this New Year I encourage you to do this as well: Focus on knowing Jesus better. I’m not talking about a knowledge about Him but rather about a deepening relationship with Him.

[v.8-11] “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

This passage gives some people a hard time; with phrases like: “that I may gain Christ and be found in Him;” or “that I may know Him” and “if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” they wonder what Paul meant – could he be saying that he had yet to gain Christ; that he had yet to have the righteousness of Christ or that something yet remained to be done in order for him to qualify for the resurrection from the dead? No, Paul had already come to faith, been made righteous and been qualified for the resurrection through faith in Jesus Christ.

If anything Paul wanted to be more than “run of the mill believer;” he wanted to walk the same path as the Lord even up to suffering for Him as a martyr some would say.  As I have already said, Paul wasn’t satisfied with his spiritual life – he wanted more; he wanted to know the Lord better in a practical and literal sense and he set his mind on deepening his connection with the Lord – I pray you will too.

The Lord bless you – Happy New Year!