Daily Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
(13) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
(14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Today’s Devotional Is THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL
In Philippians 3:13-14, the apostle Paul talks about the Christian ideal, which is the mental conception of character after which we desire to shape our lives. Our ideal should be beyond us, something that we must strive to achieve with all our strength. Like St. Paul, we must forget the things which are behind and press forward to those before us, counting the ordinary ambitions of men as worthless compared to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
To pursue our ideal, we must choose an objective that is within our scope and in harmony with our nature. We must discover the purpose for which God created and redeemed us and set ourselves to make it good. Our ideal should give unity to our life, so that we may become irresistible in our pursuit of it. We should aim to become more like Christ in every act and thought.
The Christ ideal is the highest ideal, and we must be willing to put aside our own righteousness to get His, counting all things as loss. Only then can we be transformed into His likeness and prepared for the hour when our bodies will be transformed into the glorious body of Christ. We must pray for God’s grace to abound towards us, so that we may have all sufficiency in all things and abound unto every good work.
In summary, the Christian ideal is to become more like Christ in every aspect of our lives. It requires us to forget the things that are behind, choose an objective within our scope, and pursue it with all our strength. We must be willing to put aside our own righteousness and count all things as loss to gain Christ. May we all strive to attain this high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER for Today
Thou, O Christ, art all I want. May Thy grace abound towards me, so that having all sufficiency in all things, I may abound unto every good work. AMEN.