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BY: JENNIFER POAD, TX
In Philippians 3:10-14 , Paul writes. “10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resur- rection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection BECOMINGMORE LIKECHRIST.
T his last Christmas our As we hung the case on the wall and Libbi placed each buckle in its special spot, her little face glowed as she recalled the story behind each one. Some buckles came harder than others, but each one involved a journey, a goal, and an accomplishment. I noticed that as she talked about each one, the things that made each buckle special was not the color of the stones, or how shiny they were, but instead it was about the story behind them. It made me think that God proba- bly looks at us in that same way. We are all special prizes in the Lord’s eyes, each with a unique story of hardships and struggles, but in the end, if we accept Jesus into our hearts, we accomplish God’s goal for us, and we become prizes in His kingdom. ten-year-old asked for a case to display the belt buckles that she had won over the past few years.
and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Paul’s objective here is to become more like Christ and to fulfill everything that Christ wants him to be. He is focused on the goal, setting aside the things from his past that make him feel like a fail- ure. We have all tried and failed, but those are the things that teach us and make us stronger. If all the rewards came easy, we wouldn’t become better at what we do. When we make mistakes in life, instead of being ashamed and dwelling on them, we go to Christ and ask for forgiveness. The most important thing is to always learn from those mistakes and realize that becoming who Christ wants us to be is a journey, so keep your eye on the prize and work hard toward the goal! •
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from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
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