The Reasons of Life
(Philippians 3:7-14)

What makes people live in the world? In order to gain more material, fame, and pleasure, people of the world are living busy lives. Because they have a mistaken belief that lives in this world are all they have, they are obsessed with the ‘earthly things’. Thus, we who are created for the glory of God should believe in the Lord, be saved, and realize the clear purpose of life.

1. What I should give up (Philippians 3:7)
Before meeting Jesus in person, Apostle Paul was a slave to legalism and persecuted the church, boasting of what he had. However, after meeting Jesus, the value of his life was changed. The start of faith life is made when the lord of our life changes from us to Jesus. In other words, our faith life starts from ‘self-denial’ where we lay down ourselves and Jesus becomes the lord of our life. Therefore we are supposed to live ‘Christ-centered life’ rather than ‘Self-centered life’. I should live in Christ, and Christ should live in me (Galatians 2:20). But this is where the conflict starts. In our heart, our new self is in conflict with our old self. In order to win this battle, we should be broken inside and become humble. In Christ, we should be transformed and become fundamentally new.

2. What I try to obtain (Philippians 3:8-13)
What is the most important thing in our life is that we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and live with Him. In Jesus we should take off our old sinful selves and live lives of the righteous. To do so, we should partake in the suffering and resurrection of Christ. We should absolutely not dwell on today, being complacent. With a clear sense of purpose, we should arm ourselves with the power of resurrection. Therefore we should move toward tomorrow, becoming people of faith and dream in Jesus.

3. The ultimate objective of life (Philippians 3:14)
The goal of all of us is Jesus Christ. God has given a mission to all of us. Therefore we should live a life of a person granted with mission. Until we receive the award in heaven, we should run with all our strength. To do so, we should not turn back. We should not be entangled in the past. We should run forward towards the heavenly calling. Then God, who makes all things work together for good, will fulfill amazing things in our lives.

As you give up yourself and have Jesus Christ as your Lord, you should run forward to fulfill God-given mission, fixing your eyes on the Lord. Then God will make all things work together for good to us and give us an award which is prepared in heaven.