“….I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, 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 toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14
“…The Pharisees then said to one another, ‘You see that you can do nothing; look, the world has gone after him…’ “ John 12:19
I often watch the various political talk shows in order to hear all sides of the political –social-religious debates of the day. Only recently did I notice a sort of motto on the screen on one of the stations which states, “Lean Forward”. That one phrase really made me do just that. It captures for me the duty that we all have as Christians, Americans, and citizens of this world. To “lean forward” is to become attentive, to listen, to focus, to engage, to think, to participate. It is the opposite of leaning back, passive, disengaged, discouraged, self- satisfied. It calls to mind the image of an athlete—a runner, pitcher, swimmer, skier-- who is leaning into position, looking toward the goal. Paul is writing this letter from prison and yet he is able to write with incredible optimism because of his faith in Christ Jesus. Paul describes the prize as the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We know that Jesus’s call is to justice in all and to all. It was this very call which caught Jesus up in a political-social-religious firestorm which ended in his crucifixion. Perhaps in our “leaning forward” we can hear not only the Scriptures and the sermons, but listen to the debates and make our decisions and write our blogs and cast our votes and strain forward to what lies ahead toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the citizens of the world today would truly go after him no matter what we call ourselves and what talk shows we watch?
K
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