Press On to the Heavenly Kingdom

What are we living for? Are our eyes on the earthly or heavenly reward? Christ Jesus calls you upward, citizen of heaven, to grasp what He died for you to take. Let go of worldly accomplishments so you can gain the prize that will not fade. Press on towards the goal—

… the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own… but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith…

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…

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

—Philippians 3:8-9, 13, 20-21 (NASB)

Forget What Lies Behind

So often, my anxious thoughts are stuck in the past. I tend to focus on my old broken ways, and look at them as I assess my circumstances and the possible future. I can be so mixed up. Instead, I should be forgetting my imperfection and failures, and remembering what Jesus has done for me.

That isn’t my only problem though. I can obsess over the tasks of the day or even the good things God’s called me to. When my heart strays from Him, it doesn’t matter if I focus on the bad or the good. If I keep a constant eye on my own little kingdom, I forget the true King. I strain to build a sandcastle that has no chance of surviving.

I don’t think it’s just me, in our daily stresses, we forget His presence. He wants us to build our castles made of sand with Him, remembering it’s never about our kingdom—our worldly accomplishments. The One who made the sand and the tides bids us join Him in something lasting. He calls us to bring to terms heaven and earth.

As we do, He’s always more impressed with our hearts than goals obtained. He’s more interested in where we are going with Him than where we have been.

Press On Towards Heaven

Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of heaven. In this very real but often invisible kingdom, He is Lord. His rule and reign is covering hearts and will one day cover the land. He is the good King, whose authority and power is rightfully subjecting everything to Himself. His glory subdues first our hearts, then the body, and moves on to the rest of creation.

The one thing that continues on from this world—is people. Might we be used by the hand of God to touch someone eternally? At the end of our lives what will be most important is not the tasks we’ve completed, not our failures to be holy, and not the kingdom we’ve built. Let’s forget our plans and press on toward His.

He is building a heavenly temple made of people, where King Jesus sits enthroned upon the praises of every tongue and nation. He’s worthy of it all!