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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Each of us needs something that is bigger than ourselves, something that will give us purpose and meaning in life. We are attracted to the crowds—what is going on? We want to be part of it. But the crowds come and go, they change with the wind. And when the crowd is gone we are left with ourselves, by ourselves, and still looking for meaning. Paul tells us that he too was pressing for something, something beyond the material and the fleeting whims of time. He was pressing toward the high calling of God. What was this high calling? He tells in verse 10: “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.” To Paul, this was the ultimate prize, to know Christ and to experience Him in both his power and His suffering—to be part of who Christ was. Like Paul, we too can have this prize in our sights. When all around us seems so empty and pointless, we can find meaning in Christ and Him crucified. The song says it well, “I sought a flag to follow, a cause for which to stand, I sought a valiant leader who could my love command.…I found them all in Jesus, the Light, the Truth, the Way; Beneath His flag I’ll take my stand and follow Him today.” Yes, we can find that high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Dalbert Walker