I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
—Philippians 3:12 (NLT)
Grace gives joy to pressing on. I don’t press on because it is required. I don’t press on to win Jesus’ love for me. He revealed His love on Calvary, and I received it when I asked Him into my heart. I press on because not pressing on would break the intimacy of His presence. Not pressing on would erect a wall to the grace He won for me.
He is perfect. I am not. As long as I live in this human body, I shall never reach absolute perfection according to the law. But that never keeps me from pressing on to know Him more. It never keeps me from this adventure of undeserved favor—this growth to understand what grace really means for my life. I press on to grasp in my heart this grace that first possessed me.
His grace is perfection. It meets the requirements of the law, which I could never attain. When I allow—when I press on, His grace does a work in me that I could never achieve. He gives me the power to press on—not to be perfect in meeting the requirements of the law. I press on to comprehend the depth of His grace—to possess that perfection of grace—that perfection of love for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. Yes, His grace is perfect, and it is constantly my joyful journey and my gift.
Why do you press on? Are you constantly striving to meet those requirements that only He could meet? Or do you seek to know better the Savior who gave His life for your freedom? He has written you the greatest love letter—His Word. He yearns for you to know Him, and the power of His grace. Law tells you to fear the Word. His love gives you the power to view the Word—all of it—through the eyes of His grace. Jesus cries for you to grasp the love and joy of His grace that first possessed you. After all, He gave His life so you might have it.
© 2018 Lynn Lacher
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