Day 45 — Press On Towards Christ

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, you have taken hold of me and called me to know you. As this reading plan ends, keep me from imagining that the journey is finished. Free me from pride in past progress and despair over past failure. Fix my eyes upon you and strengthen me to press on towards the life for which you made me. Amen.

Headline

We press on towards wholeness not to secure Christ for ourselves, but because Christ has already taken hold of us.

Philippians 3:7-14

Comment

This is the final day of our reading plan for The Seven: From Vice to Virtue, but it is not the final day of the journey. We have named seven deeply rooted habits and explored the virtues that move in the opposite direction. Yet none of us has completed seven separate problems in nine weeks. The vices remain intertwined, and growth in Christlike character remains the work of a lifetime.

Paul begins by clearing away a false foundation. The achievements and religious credentials on which he once relied are now loss beside “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (v.8). The goal of Christian formation is not to become a more impressive version of ourselves. It is to know Christ, belong to him and increasingly share the shape of his life.

That journey rests upon a righteousness we do not create: “the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith” (v.9). Before there is effort, there is gift. Before there is progress, there is acceptance in Christ. We do not practise virtue to build a case for God to receive us. We can face the truth about ourselves and begin again because, through faith, we are already found in Christ.

Paul is nevertheless unsentimental about his present condition: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal” (v.12). That is a fitting confession at the end of this series. Greater awareness of vice may initially make us feel that we have gone backwards. In reality, seeing more truthfully can itself be evidence of grace. Maturity does not mean needing Christ less; it means recognising more clearly how completely we depend upon him.

Paul neither pretends to have arrived nor resigns himself to staying as he is: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (v.12). His effort is held inside Christ’s prior action. Jesus has taken hold of him; therefore Paul presses on. Grace does not weaken his resolve but gives it a foundation, direction and hope.

To forget what lies behind does not mean denying harm, refusing repentance or discarding what God has taught us. Paul refuses to let either former achievements or former failures define the direction of his life. He is “straining towards what is ahead” (v.13), because Christ and the resurrection lie ahead. We may learn honestly from yesterday without living under its pride, guilt or discouragement.

The wholeness Jesus offers is therefore larger than improved behaviour or a more manageable life. It is life found in him: our loves reordered, our character reshaped after his likeness, our fragmented lives gathered under his gracious rule, and finally our bodies raised when he makes all things new. We do not define that wholeness for ourselves. Its form is Jesus—his humility, holiness, self-giving love and resurrection life.

So we return to the question with which we began on Day 1: “Do you want to be made whole?” The question is not asking whether we would like relief from the consequences of our habits while protecting the loves that produce them. Jesus invites us to entrust our whole selves to him: to surrender what he exposes, receive the righteousness he gives, practise the life of love by his Spirit and keep walking with his people.

The reading plan ends here, but Christ’s work in us does not. We will stumble, confess, receive mercy and begin again. We will need Scripture, prayer, worship, the Lord’s Supper and companions who remind us of grace. We will make every effort, not to earn the prize, but because Christ has made us his own. Wherever we are on the journey, the next step remains the same: turn towards Jesus and press on.

Why does God want me to hear this today? Perhaps because I am tempted either to congratulate myself for completing the series or to despair at how much remains unchanged. Jesus invites me away from both pride and discouragement. He has taken hold of me. I can therefore answer his question afresh, entrust the unfinished work to his grace and take the next faithful step towards knowing him and becoming like him.

Reflect

• As you look back over this series, which vice do you most need to keep naming honestly before God?
• Which promise or gift of Christ will help you resist either pride in your progress or despair over your failures?
• What would it mean for you to answer Jesus’ question—“Do you want to be made whole?”—with a concrete next step?

Action

Write down four things to carry beyond this series: one vice you will continue to name, one promise of Christ you will treasure, one practice of love you will pursue and one person who will walk with you. Share these with that person, pray together and agree on a simple time to ask one another how the journey is continuing.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, you know me completely, have given me your righteousness and have taken hold of me as your own. I have not already arrived, but I want to know you and become like you. By your Spirit, reorder my loves, form your character in me and keep me walking with your people. When I stumble, bring me back to your grace. Help me to press on towards the resurrection and the life for which you made me. Yes, Lord: make me whole. Amen.