I have arrived. Have you? I know I have arrived because every time I ask Siri on my phone for driving directions, and I get to my destination, she always says, “You have arrived.” Pardon me for having my doubts! How do we know when we have really arrived?
Paul knew he had not arrived. After spending his youth advancing in Judaism beyond his peers, he discovered that the followers of Jesus whom he persecuted were actually followers of the Messiah. When he became a follower of Christ he had so much to learn. But by the time he wrote to the Philippians, he had experienced beatings, imprisonments, and many challenges for following Jesus. Surely, Paul knew Jesus by now?! Nevertheless, he writes, “I want to know Christ.” Then he spells it out: he has not yet arrived at his goal.
If Paul had not yet arrived, neither have we. I once heard about a man who climbed a ladder to the top only to discover it was leaning against the wrong building. This was Paul’s story. Trying to please God by keeping the law, he had missed God’s provision of salvation through Jesus. What was his plan? Paul forgot what was behind him and strained toward what was ahead. He pressed on toward the goal to win the prize of the heavenward call of Christ.
Years ago, I went on a mission trip to Montana and read McCulloch’s story of Lewis and Clark. There in Great Falls, where I completed high school, Lewis and Clark had portaged their canoes, walking up the hills beside the impassable falls on the Missouri River. They canoed the mountains, dodging Grizzly Bears, searching for a river to take them west. Their search revealed many beautiful places, but no river to take them to the Pacific Ocean.
I have not arrived. Our goal for this year is what Paul called, “this one thing.” We want to know Christ, too. To know him is to know the power of his resurrection and the participation in his sufferings. The road of discipleship is still not an easy road. We will know we have arrived when we see Jesus, face to face, and discover that we are finally like him. Until then, we press on to know him better.
