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We Must Finish Strong and Not Coast Our Way into Heaven

How We Start Doesn’t Matter, Because What Counts Is How We Finish

Paul writes to the Philippian church to encourage them. He shares his personal ambition in hopes they’ll do what he does. He says he pushes himself to reach a goal and to win a prize, an eternal reward.

In another place Paul talks about running a race. He runs with intention. He runs to win (1 Corinthians 9:22-26). So should we.

This idea of pressing onward to win a reward is a call to finish strong. We should strive to move forward, to pursue Jesus until the very end of our lives. Though we may retire from work, we should never retire from Jesus.

The goal is not to slide into heaven by the smallest of margins but to be ushered in triumphantly because we won our race.

Some people decide to follow Jesus and think they’re all set, that they don’t need to do anything more to hold onto him.

They assume they’re in and wrongly conclude they can do whatever they want the rest of their life, because as far as eternity is concerned, their actions don’t matter.

They think they’re all set.

They’re also wrong. Jesus doesn’t want us to coast our way into heaven. He wants us to pursue our faith as though it is the only thing that matters, because it is.

When Jesus calls us to follow him, he calls us to a lifetime of following him. When we follow him, we press on toward a goal to win a prize.

We can’t lose sight of that. We must finish strong. We must finish our lives strong, for us and for Jesus.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is Philippians 1-4 and today’s post is on Philippians 3:14.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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