Pressing On

I press toward the goal.

Philippians 3:14

If you’re planning to travel during the Thanksgiving break, you’re probably mapping the route, arranging lodging, and looking forward to being with family and friends around a roasted turkey. Everyone’s travel plans are different, but each trip has three parts: the starting point, the journey itself, and the destination.

In the Christian life, our starting point is Mount Calvary. The German hymnist Paul Gerhardt penned these poignant words: “Upon the cross extended, see, world, thy Lord suspended.” Jesus shed His blood on the cross to set us on the road to heaven.

Our destination is the new Jerusalem, the Celestial City described so brilliantly in Revelation 21–22. Just as we study travel brochures of our destinations, we should frequently study the subject of heaven in the Bible.

The Christian’s journey is a series of steps in Christlikeness. Are you more like Jesus today than yesterday? Are you pressing on? Does your life now demonstrate the love, joy, and peace of Jesus more than it did a year ago? Today find a way to be a little more like the Savior as you press, step by step, toward your destination.

I will look upward and travel onward and not be afraid.

ELLIS GOVAN