The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Philippians 3:10-14, “… that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, 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,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

It’s one thing to know what you desperately want; it’s quite another thing to know how to get it. Years had passed since Saul of Tarsus (later, Paul the Apostle) had met Jesus Christ on the Road to Damascus. The well-educated, enthusiastic young man who thought he was doing the LORD’s will, had his life changed 180 degrees on that day! Now, years later, Paul still hungers to know more about Christ, more about the power of His resurrection, to experience the “fellowship of His sufferings,” and even be so identified with Him that he would die to the evil motives and attitudes for which Christ had died.

Paul knew what he wanted – and needed! He just had not yet achieved his goal. How is he to do it? How are you and I to do it? First, by forgetting things of the past. All of us have things in our past that we regret. We confess them to Christ and He forgives them. But we don’t forget them and often don’t forgive ourselves. We also have some good things in our past – things we need to forget as well. Remembering too often the good we’ve done leads to pride. That good in our past is the product of Christ’s love and power in our lives. We need to give Him the glory!

Second, we need to energetically reach (literally, “extend the neck”) for the goal that brings the prize. And what is that prize?

It’s the supreme call of God the Father that we should become like His Son, Jesus Christ! Wow! That’s a prize worth the effort! When runners in Roman times won a race, they were given a wreath to wear. It was glorious, but only for a short time. The prize that Paul sought –and the one we should be seeking – is eternal. It never fades, and it lasts throughout Eternity.

That is something we should desperately want because we will one day lay that crown at Jesus’ feet in acknowledging that He alone is worthy.

We pray for you and for ourselves as we stretch for that supreme goal,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”