We’re Not There Yet!

“…I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV).

Each December, I reflect on my progress on last year’s goals and think ahead to the New Year. It’s a practice I’ve employed for years. 

Pausing to look back to see where I was and observing where I am is more than rewarding; it’s revealing.

I rarely recognize that I have accomplished all my goals. This reflection process can also disclose areas of my life that need ongoing transformation. 

Failure to regularly review our lives guarantees stagnation and thwarts growth relationally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and vocationally.

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates is credited as saying: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” The phrase encourages us to consider how we live and what makes life worth living. 

Paul writes to believers in Philippi. Some believed they had obtained the goal of Christian perfection—that they had “arrived.” But Paul acknowledges that the calling of faithful followers of Christ is to “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). 

According to this standard, I recognize that although I’ve certainly made progress from where I was, I’m not there yet!

Paul’s message to the saints at Philippi is timely for us in the 21^st century. As Robert Lightner says: “There must never be a stalemate in [our] spiritual growth or a plateau behind which [we] cannot climb!”^⁠1

Despite the successes or failures in 2024, we’re not there yet! That’s not a statement of defeat; it’s an awareness that there is still more before us.

Some in Philippi viewed Paul as a “larger-than-life spiritual giant.” But Paul wants to remind them (and us) that he, too, had not reached the goal of fully “knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection.” He had not “shared completely in the sufferings of Christ.” He had yet to “become like Christ in his death wholly” (Philippians 3:10). 

In other words, Paul was not even there yet! He openly acknowledges: “I do not consider that I have made it my own.” And we are not there yet!

 So, if, like me, you recognize that we haven’t fully arrived, what are our next steps? Paul emphasizes three things essential to keeping us moving forward.

The first is to forget the past. “Forgetting what lies behind…” 

It’s one thing to learn from our past. It’s a danger to dwell on the past. I love what someone once told me: 

“Living in the past keeps you from the present. And without living in the present, you will fail to have a future.” 

Your enemy wants you to live in the past. Paul says: “forget what’s behind you.” No amount of “would have, could have, or should have” will change your past. It’s wasted energy, unproductive, and contributes to paralysis. 

Second, Paul says, “…straining forward to what lies ahead.” 

The word “straining” means stretching or extending oneself toward a goal. Paul realizes he’s not there yet, but that does not excuse him from extending himself toward the ultimate goal of “…becoming blameless, innocent, without blemish.” He wants his light to reflect Christ in a “crooked and twisted generation” (Phil 2:15). 

I’m not there yet, and you’re not there yet. But each of us can resolve to strain toward a most noble goal of allowing Christ to transform us into his image this year. 

Finally, Paul says: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

To “press on” is to follow with haste, with intensity of effort, to catch up with. Like a runner in a race, her body is bent forward, and each stride closes the distance. 

As followers of Christ, we are always humbled by the contrast between what we are and what Christ desires us to be. But we cease to stay in the past, we continually extend ourselves toward the goal, and with each step we press on to close the distance!

My December “reflection time” has revealed a lot. While some goals have been unrealized, several goals have been exceeded. I’ve made some mistakes this past year, and they are lessons to teach me. 

I see new goals before me this coming year. I recognize my trepidation and have more questions than answers, yet I am excited to see what God will reveal and accomplish this year. I’m also aware of the necessity to forget, strain, and press on—because I’m not there, yet!  

May your New Year bring you closer to the “ultimate goal” of being transformed into the image of Christ. 

¹ Robert P. Lightner, “Philippians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 661.

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