There is a balance in the Christian life. We must never think we have made it, now must we ever get totally despondent. Paul knew he had achieved some things, but also that there was much further to go. We also need to be strongly aware that living by faith and being totally dependent upon Jesus most definitely does not mean that we don't do anything! Indeed the exact opposite is true. We are saved by faith, not by works, but the more faith we have the harder we will work.
So Paul pressed on towards the goal of being just like Jesus. He did this because Christ had made him His own. Paul was not weighed down by the past. The past is important, but we can be hindered by the past in two ways. We can be dogged by past failures, or we can rest on our laurels. Both could have applied to Paul. He could have given up because of all he had done wrong, or he could have taken things easy because of all his success. He did neither. We have been called to a great prize by Jesus and we need to pursue that prize with all our strength.
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