Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; (10)that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being confirmed to His death, (11) if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (12) Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. (13)Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. (15) I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul – he writes of joy from a Roman prison, saying that the believer in whatever earthly circumstances should manifest the joy in knowing the Lord. On the road to Damascus Paul personally experienced Jesus Christ and his life dramatically changed. Paul knew Christ; he knew he was in Christ’s hands and the goal of salvation was ever before him. He counted his past behaviors and sins, rewards and achievements not as loss or gain but as obstacles to salvation. He renounced all dependence on things of this world and declared them worthless and a hinderance to the goal of salvation in Christ.

Paul uses the analogy of a foot race pressing on toward the goal of salvation. He acknowledged his past sins but he was a new man in Christ – he did not live in the past but was straining toward what is ahead in dependence on Christ and the Spirit. Runners always run looking ahead with eyes on the goal. In the words of the current women’s Olympic bronze medalist, “Life has a funny way of giving you what you need before you think you’re ready for it.” In faith we will abandon all dependence on things past as worthless external advantage. We are, in Christ, exactly where we are meant to be and Paul urges his readers to be teachable – to have a humble heart. Paul knows Christ; he knows he is in Christ’s hands.

From the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous to inside the prison walls of Louisiana State Penitentiary, we are encouraged by those beautiful words of verse 13 of Philippians 3: “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”. In Christ we have joy and a hope that is sure.