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"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching 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)
I think that I have recently had an epiphany, beloved. Or perhaps "clarification" would be a better way to put it. I was thinking once again of these words of the Apostle Paul to the believers in the ancient city of Philippi. As these God-breathed words ran through my mind, I found myself focusing upon the word "upward" almost as if I had never noticed it before. For most of my Christian life as an adult I have considered this word to refer to gaining heaven one day through faith in Jesus Christ. "Upward" is a directional word indicating eternal life in glory with the Lord Jesus Christ. And I am quite sure that such a divine final destination was uppermost in the apostle's mind as he wrote these words.
And here is where my "epiphany" of sorts comes in, beloved. It occurred to me that Paul was not only talking about our final destiny in glory, but also about the upward journey we travel on our way to what God has so wondrously prepared for us. As the full impact of this truth unfolded in my mind the words of an old hymn whose lyrics were written almost a century ago by Johnson Oatman Jr. came to mind:
I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."
Lord, lift me up and let me stand
By faith on heaven's tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
What God has made known to me about myself, beloved, and that which I want to share with you here is that I want to live my life on higher ground. I want to walk daily before my King at a higher level of love and fellowship and service and, yes, even sacrifice than I have found so far. And so the simple phrase "higher ground" has become my watchword, my inward prompt or reminder the next time that I find myself taking the lower path spiritually. I want to be able to know down deep in my heart that I am in truth "pressing on the upward way." I know that heaven is coming and that nothing and no one can keep us from that if we know Jesus Christ by faith. But I am talking now about the journey. I want so very much to have my Master plant my feet on higher ground. How about you?
Ron
